Pokémon Moon: An Unforgettable Adventure
by NaturalDreamer
Summary: A re-telling of the game Pokémon Moon, except with some twists and an expressive main character! Join the amateur Pokémon trainer as she goes through different trials with her partner Pokémon and become the champion of the Alola Region! Will she overcome the challenges or will she fail miserably? Only time will tell!
1. Chapter 1

"Yeah! We're almost done packing, so it won't be much longer until we're set!"

In a well lit room rests a young girl of eleven. In front of this child is a computer with it's screen on and someone's face reflecting from within. The child's right leg bounces continuously. She's unable to stop herself from feeling excited and perhaps a little overwhelmed while speaking to the gentleman on the screen.

This will be her first time traveling to another destination, especially somewhere far away from her home, Vermillion City. She has always stayed within the city ever since she was born. There was a time where she used to swim in the ocean, but that was two years ago...

"Yo, cousin! You still there?"

She blinks a couple of times, snapping out of her daze. Shaking her head, the girl smacks her cheeks and focuses on the screen. She grins at him.

"I'm still here! Sorry about that professor Kukui! The excitement must've gotten to me." She rubs behind her head sheepishly and giggles.

The man, professor Kukui, nods at her before smiling back while waving his one hand, "No problem. It's understandable. Now, there's a reason I called and that's about your pictures. You sent me two and I'm wondering which one you want on your passport."

He brings up the two photos. It shows the same faces of one girl, but with only one of them wearing black glasses. Her dark brown hair's tied in the back and hanging loosely over her shoulder. The freckles on her face spread across her nose and cheeks that blend well with her tan skin. The one thing that pops out at her are the color of her hazel eyes. It's a mixture of brown and green which reminds her of a forest. The deep, lush colors that brighten whenever something cool happens or become darker when a negative emotion hits her. It's one of the things that she likes about herself when it comes to appearances.

It didn't take long to choose. She sent the photos about a week ago and just made up her mind today. Her finger swiftly moves from the desk to the screen and points at the picture with the glasses.

"The one where I'm wearing glasses! That one should be okay." She responds positively with a bright smile.

"10-4, good buddy! I'll let everybody out here know you're on your way!" Professor Kukui informs her.

"Thanks!"

"Celina...!" the young girl, Celina, perks her head up when she heard her name being called. She glances at the closed door, "I need your help with these boxes!"

"Sounds like your mom needs you, cousin," Celina turns back to the screen and nods at him while still smiling," I'll see you in person soon! Take care!"

"Mm! You too, Professor!"

They both bid each other farewell before Celina turns the computer off. Celina jumps up from the chair. She brings her hands up and stretches out her arms. Once she hears something crack, Celina sighs heavenly before exiting the room.

~One Hour Later~

It didn't long to gather everything together and prepare for the journey to the Alola Region. Celina told her mother that she had to do something and will join her soon at the docks. She did have an hour to kill before the ship takes off. The sound of the waves eases her to relax. Though, it's quite difficult when Celina's heart pounds hard against her chest. She inhales the smell of the salty sea before exhaling. Celina does this a couple of times all while having her eyes closed. Unfortunately, no matter how many times she does this, it didn't ease her nerves of traveling, especially over seas.

It's been so long since she last swam in the ocean or been anywhere near it. Celina would gaze at the sea from a far, but that's about it. To be this close to it again... It just adds more stress to her already anxious heart. But she wants to do this. She _has_ to do this or she won't ever grow stronger. Celina's going to be a Pokémon trainer. That's a fact. What good will she be if she's afraid to swim in the ocean? Or stand near it? She doesn't want to let her Pokémon down, if she'll catch any of them...

"Okay... I'm going down a dark mind-set. Stop that. Not before leaving this place." Celina scolds herself.

She takes a moment to compose herself. Then, Celina slowly takes a deep breath before she slowly opens her eyes. All that's before her is the calm sea that moves gently with the wind. It's clear waters can be viewed from curious onlookers. A Krabby skitters across the incoming waves. The water caresses the sand and then recedes back into the ocean. It's a pitch perfect image that would calm any one looking at sea.

Unfortunately, not for her.

Her heart refuses to calm down and go at a steady beat. She shakily breathes in some air before letting some out. Celina brings both of her hands up and squeezes them together against her chest. Flashes of the stormy night rushes into her mind. Her grip on her hands become tighter to the point where it's almost white.

All she can remember is the darkness and how quickly she was moving away from the surface. Not being able to breathe... The burning feeling in her chest was intense and terrifying. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn't escape... All Celina felt was fear and hopelessness for a couple of minutes until a sense of serenity enveloped her. The closer she felt her conscious slip, the less she struggled and the more she accepted her fate.

Celina was all alone when she fainted in the ocean.

Luckily for her, someone rescued her just in time. The next thing she remembers was hyperventilating and crying to her hearts content. Her mother was there, squeezing her to her chest and trying to calm her down, assuring her that she's right here. All Celina could do was sob hysterically and apologize to her mother several times. One of the things that Celina recalls was apologizing for almost leaving her mother alone. After that, she blacked out in her mother's arms. Celina never got a chance to see her reaction.

After that day, she never went near the ocean again. The only time she did was once about a year ago and now today.

"There... You got this. You can face the ocean now," Celina tells herself before smiling bitterly, "Even if I only got this far... It's still an improvement."

Now the next part is actually touching the salty water or at least swimming in the ocean. However, that won't happen any time soon. Celina understands that rushing into improving herself will only hurt her more. She tried it in the past by forcing herself to run toward the ocean. Celina yelled out a battle cry before diving into the ocean. Unfortunately, it proved too much for her. When the sight and cold water made her think back to the night of the incident, it almost paralyzed her whole body. Feeling fearful of her life, she swam back to shore and ran back to her house.

Celina releases the grip on her hands and slowly lowers them to her sides. She clenches her fist and grinds her teeth together. Feeling the urge to vent out on her frustrations, Celina inhales before shouting at the sea.

"I'll be back, you crazy ocean! And when I do, I'll be able to swim again without fear, so be prepared, you asshole!" Celina yells at the calm sea while shaking her fist at it.

There's no response from the sea. The Wingulls that are nearby, however, lift their bodies off of the ground and fly away from the odd, aggressive girl. Celina huffs and puffs before slumping her shoulders.

She oddly feels better after yelling. Good. At least she won't be as nervous when she leaves this place.

Celina smacks her cheeks to mentally prepare herself. She grabs her glasses that were hanging on her neckline and pushes them in place. A smile forms on her lips, feeling stronger than she was before.

"Show time~!"

She then turns around and runs off to where the harbor is to start her journey. Fortunately, it didn't take long to reach her destination. When Celina reaches the docks, she notices that her mother's there, waiting for her arrival.

Her mother, Mabella, is a slim woman with thick, wavy brown hair. Her brown eyes gaze at the sea, her body leaning against the rails of the port. She's currently wearing a white t-shirt with a brown jacket on top and blue jeans. It stops at her ankles where she shows off her white slip on shoes. The black glasses that she usually wears lie within the top of her hair.

Mabella turns to the sound of incoming footsteps. Her face expresses relief when her eyes land on Celina.

"There you are! Where have you been? I thought we would have to leave without you." Mabella jokes, laughing a little.

"Sorry Mama! I had to say my goodbyes to this place! I'm ready to go now!" Celina quickly apologizes. She bows respectfully to her mother before running up the ramp to the ship.

Mabella smiles at her daughter's enthusiasm. She turns to the captain of the ship with an apologetic smile, "We're ready to depart whenever you're ready."

The older, sea captain nods before going up the ramp to set sail. Mabella follows suit and finds Celina leaning against the rail, her back to her. She goes over to join her. Hearing her mother come up beside her, Celina looks up at her, a bright smile on her lips. Mabella returns the smile and wraps an arm around her shoulders. She then squeezes Celina closer, hugging her affectionately. Celina leans her head on her mother's shoulder and sighs peacefully. The sound of the ship's horn echoes loudly in both of the female's eardrums. After that, the vessel sets sail from the harbor and into the open sea.

Alola region, here she comes!

~Three Days Later~

After being out at sea for so long, Celina will be glad to see any sort of land by now. When she hears the words "Land-Ho!" from above, she rushes to the side of the ship and leans against the rails. In the distance, an island appears with an open harbor for the incoming ship. Celina bounces in one spot, eager to set foot on land and to see her new home.

"Excited?" Mabella asks, smiling at her daughter's positive energy. She removes her jacket, realizing how warm it's become and ties it around her waist.

"Mm! I am! I am! I can't wait! I'm going to become a Pokémon trainer and have a pokémon of my own! And... And er... Before that, I gotta meet the professor! And then... And then...!" Celina speaks quickly, fumbling over her words and not taking a moment to catch her breath.

Her mother only laughs before placing a hand on Celina's shoulder, "I know you're excited, but let's actually get to the port before you run out energy, okay?"

Celina nods before giving her a thumbs up, "Okay!"

So, the two of them watch as the ship draws closer to the harbor. Then, when they were close enough, the vessel drops it's anchor. The captain maneuvers the ship around to line up with the docks. Once the captain achieves that, they drop the ramp and immediately start descending with boxes in their arms. With the help of some Machamps, they were able to finish the task with ease. Celina skips down the ramp with her mother right behind her and stops at the large cart. It has all of their stuff inside with two large, brown horses in the front.

It's a pokémon that Celina's never seen before. Their manes are black and red that match a coating of sorts around their legs. Three dreadlocks hang down from either side of their faces and their tails are very thick. Whatever their names are, which Celina's sure she'll find out soon, they look very strong with how thick their bodies are.

Unable to help herself, Celina takes out a camera from her bag and walks backwards to capture a good shot. It's a normal camera that didn't have a lightening feature. This prevents startling Pokémon she encounters on her travels. She didn't want to leave a bad impression whenever she meets a new pokémon.

Once Celina has a good angle, she presses the button and snaps a picture of the two Pokémon. The two didn't react to her taking a picture of them. Smiling to herself, she pockets the camera back in her bag and looks over at her mother.

"Can we ride them?" Celina asks.

"I'm not sure. Are we allowed to do that?" Mabella questions before turning to the man beside her.

"Of course! I'm sure the Mudsdales won't mind you riding them. Here, let me give you a hand." the man gives a clipboard to a nearby sailor before escorting Mabella to the Mudsdales.

The man instructs them on what to do and helps them climb on top of their backs. Celina moves around a bit before she's comfortable. She looks around in awe, feeling giddy that she can see the surrounding area easier. Celina glances down at Mudsdale and gently pets the pokémon on top of it's head. She can't hold back in giving the pokémon some love. Who can?

"What a good pokémon you are..." Celina whispers sweetly as she hears a quiet grunt of approval from Mudsdale. She giggles at this and continues to stroke it.

"Thank you for helping us. We'll be on our way now." Mabella bows her head toward the man, appreciating his kind nature.

"No problem! You just let us know if you need any help and we'll be happy to lend a hand. Everyone here on this island are friendly, especially to those that are just moving in," the man assures before turning to the two Mudsdales, "You two know where to go! Head to the outskirts!"

Once they hear the order, both Mudsdale's move at a good pace while pulling the cart with ease. Since being on top of a Mudsdale, Celina can see people easier and wave at them whenever she passes by. Sometimes she hears someone shout "Alola!" or someone else doing some sort of greeting with their arms. Either way, Celina's enjoying the view and would sometimes snap a picture of the people or buildings.

It took a good hour and a half before they reach their house. Celina swings her leg over Mudsdale's head and jumps off from the side. She lands with ease before rushing over to one of the boxes in the cart. Her mother joins her shortly, but more at an easy going pace.

All of the big furniture's already inside their new home. All that's left are the small stuff like clothes, books, cooking ware, blankets and so much more. These are the type of boxes that Celina and Mabella can easily carry. Mabella approaches the door and with a key, unlocks it. Once they both walk inside, Celina's eyes widen at how spacious the living room looks.

Compared to her other home, this house's bigger and more comfortable. In the middle of the room lies a wooden table with two chairs. Further in the room is a large television that's resting on top of a small double door table. Two doors leading to another room are on either side of the television. On her left is a kitchen that's somewhat smaller than the last one, but she has no complaints.

All that matters is that they can cook and prepare a meal whenever they want to.

Within the kitchen's space is a refrigerator and storage cabinet to store their food. Speaking of which, they'll have to buy some groceries to even eat, so that's on the top of to-do list. Opposite of the kitchen are windows that Celina look through to gaze outside. There's even a door leading to the balcony. Everything's bare at the moment, but once Celina and her mother decorate the place, it'll look a lot better.

The two of them work together to bring all of the boxes inside. During the move in, Mabella brings out a pokeball and releases a pokémon. It turns out to be Meowth, a cat pokémon. Once he's been freed, he starts licking his fur in order to clean himself. Mabella smiles at this before returning to the task at hand. Celina stops at one point to take a picture of Meowth following her mother around.

Such a cute moment between the two! She couldn't resist taking a picture!

It takes a while, but they manage to finish the task. After they were done, the two Mudsdale's left to go back to their owner. Celina whistles at their departure.

"Pokémon are so smart. Look at them go!" Celina compliments as she waves goodbye, even if they can't see her anymore.

"Celina," Hearing her name, she turns to her mother who has a small purse with her, "I'm going to go and buy some groceries. Would you like to come?"

"Mmm... I think I'm going to stay here! I want to get a head start on unpacking some of my stuff." Celina answers.

"Okay, then I'll take Meowth with me. Meowth!" Mabella calls out to her pet pokémon.

A small, cream colored cat rushes out the door and stands beside Celina's mother. Meowth's gold, oval coin shines brilliantly on his forehead. His brown, curly tail sways gentle as he licks his paws and uses them to clean himself. They both giggle at his cuteness.

"Ready to go, Meowth?" Mabella asks, adjusting the strap on her shoulder and plops the sunglasses from her head to her eyes.

"Mrow!"

She smiles before she starts walking down the path. Meowth trails closely behind her. Celina watches her go and when she can't see her anymore, she heads back inside. She closes the door and slumps to the ground, releasing a long sigh.

"Man, being energetic all the time takes a lot out of me. I can finally relax a little." Celina mutters before she lazily spreads out and sits for a while.

After sitting for a certain amount of time, she grumbles before standing to start unpacking her things. Celina stretches her arms out, rubs behind her neck and then browses at all of the boxes. Her eyes scan calmly between each box to find her name. Once she finds all of them, she takes one box at a time and sets them in her room.

Celina begins unpacking her things to make her room more lively. She hangs up all of her clothes, sets up items around the place, and then makes her bed with the bed sheets. The last piece of item is a clock that she hangs on a wall that's near her television. Celina glances at the time and it says six o'clock.

"It's getting late. Hmm... Do I have enough time to take a little nap?" Celina questions, her eyes trailing from the clock to the comfortable, warm bed.

She crosses her arms and taps her left foot. Celina did feel exhausted, what with being energetic and moving all of these boxes around. Her eyes droop a little and a small yawn escapes her lips. She shakes her head and chuckles to herself.

"Alright, alright. I yield. I'm sure mom will be out for a while. She likes to socialize a lot after all." Celina shrugs with a small smile before heading to bed.

She unties her hair, takes her glasses and shoes off before plopping into the bed. Celina grabs a hand full of the thick blanket and covers herself with it. The warmth immediately soothes her as she let's sleep slowly consume her. Within a couple of minutes, she's fast asleep and breathes quietly through her nose.

~Two Hours Later~

"Mwaaawwwrrrrr!"

A familiar cry rouses Celina from her slumber. She groans as turns over to face the family cat. Celina slowly opens her eyes to see Meowth's face really close to hers. She narrows her eyes at the mischievous cat. They have a stare off for a moment before she sticks her tongue out at him. Meowth cries out again before licking her nose. Celina chuckles at the ticklish feeling and scratches behind his ear. He purrs affectionately, leaning into her hand. She giggles again as she continues to stroke him After a minute or two, Celina reluctantly sits up in bed. Once she moves, Meowth jumps off the bed and onto the wooden floor. Celina let's out a loud yawn before she rubs her head lazily.

Now awake, she places her feet on the ground and stands tall. Yawning again, she fixes herself to make sure she's neat. Celina even makes the bed. Once everything's in place, she slides the glasses on and picks Meowth up in her arms. Another yawn escapes her as she exits the room. As soon as Celina steps outside the room, her mother's there to greet her.

"Did you sleep well? You looked quite comfortable in your bed." Mabella points out, a warm smile on her lips.

Celina grins and nods, "I did! I feel like I can take on the world!"

Mabella chuckles at her enthusiasm before gesturing toward the table, "I made some sandwiches. Eat as much as you want."

"Oh, I will! Thanks Mama!" Celina sets Meowth down and skips over to the table to take a seat.

Celina digs right into the meal her mother lovingly made. She knows it's just bread with meat, cheese and lettuce mixed inside. However, there's something the way her mom makes it that tastes so good. Celina hums happily while kicking her feet, taking the time to savor each bite. While eating, Celina takes notice of the change of clothes on her mother.

Her white t-shirt hasn't changed, but now she's wearing a long, yellow flower patterned skirt to match the Alola atmosphere. It goes nicely with her skin tone and thick brown hair. Compared to her mother, Celina's hair's more straight and thin. At least they share the same hair color. Celina swallows her food before speaking.

"You look really nice, Mama. Did you buy the clothes here?" Celina asks, taking another sandwich and bites into it.

"Thank you sweetie and I did! There were so many to choose from," Mabella sets a dry dish to the side and places a hand on her cheek, smiling sheepishly, "So, I bought them all."

Celina laughs after chewing and swallowing the last piece of sandwich. She stands from her chair, walks over to the kitchen and washes her own dish. While Mabella dries the plate, she looks over at her daughter.

"Do you think you'll like it here?" Mabella asks, curiosity filling her tone.

"I already love it here! The people are really nice and I already got to see a new pokémon! It's like I'm starting my adventure early." Celina admits, her body swaying while having her hands behind her back.

"I'm happy to hear that. Speaking of which, professor Kukui should be here soon...-" the door bell suddenly goes off. The two of them look at the door before looking back at each other. Mabella chuckles, "Well, what do you know? That might be him. Why don't you answer the door, Celina?"

"Sure!"

Celina walks around the kitchen and heads to the door, but stops herself when a strange man just waltz right in. She stares at the incoming man before quickly turning to her mom.

"Moooooomm...! A strange, shirtless man just barged into our house!" Celina warns, completely caught off guard at the stranger's sudden entrance.

"Hm...?" Mabella looks up from her task and glances at the doorway. She recognizes the dark skin man before chuckling, "Oh, it's just professor Kukui, Celina. It's alright."

Should Celina worry about her mother's easy going nature? She's always been that way ever since she can remember. Letting some neighbor in and not asking why they suddenly came over. Her mother always greets them no matter what. Luckily, nothing's happened to her, thank goodness. Celina just wishes that she's more cautious of her surroundings. That way, when she leaves the house, Celina didn't have to worry about her safety.

While Celina questions if she should lock the door when she leaves, professor Kukui walks up and smiles as if Celina's outburst didn't affect him.

The man in question is taller than her by a good couple of inches. He's wearing a white lab coat with nothing underneath, hence the exclamation from earlier. Must be to show off his well-built chest. On top of his brown hair lies a white hat with an image at the front, which resembles half of a rainbow. In front of his black eyes are a pair of green shades that match the color of his shoes. Last, but not least, Kukui has on a pair of gray sweats that reach beneath his knees.

"Hey there, Celina! Good to finally meet you, cousin!" Kukui greets her in a friendly manner.

Celina mentally shrugs and sighs before going with the flow. Clearing her throat, she returns the smile and waves at him. Time to be energetic again!

"Nice to meet you too, Professor!"

Professor Kukui continues to smile before speaking, "Feelin' any jet lag? You did come a long way from the Kanto region."

"A little, but I just woke up from a nap and ate some sandwiches, so I feel pretty good!" Celina assures him with a thumbs up.

She feels a hand on top of her head and she looks up at her mother. Mabella smiles warmly at her before looking up at Kukui.

"Nice to meet you, professor Kukui. We just moved in today, but we still have plenty of energy to spare." Mabella greets him.

"Hey there, mom! I hope you don't mind if I just let myself in. Oh, and call me Kukui, would you?" Professor Kukui tells her, his smile widening into a grin, "Also, welcome to Alola!"

"Thanks!" Celina appreciates the kind gesture, feeling more and more at home here.

Mabella nods and goes on to talk about how she remembers Kukui challenging the Indigo Gym Leaders long ago. Celina zones out after that, not born to witness the professor in all his glory when he was younger.

It's interesting that he went to Kanto and has experience in battling Pokémon trainers. With him being a professor now, Celina assumes that he'll give her some advice on being a trainer. The phrases of him not doing so good in the Kanto region brings her attention back to focus. So, he didn't do too well when he was younger. Celina's curious on how he's improved since then. The saying goes that you learn from your mistakes. She wonders what the mistakes taught him.

Professor Kukui shifts his focus on Celina after exchanging words with Mabella. Celina glances up at him innocently.

"Hey now, Celina! We should head out to the next town over, cousin! It's time for you to meet the island Kahuna and get yourself a pokémon, yeah!" Kukui tells her.

As soon as she hears that, her eyes light up like a Christmas tree.

This is the moment she's been waiting for. Celina will finally be able to have a pokémon of her own and go on an adventure with it. She wonders what type of Pokémon this Island Kahuna will have. Will they be cute? Cool? Mischievous looking? Celina didn't know, but that just makes her more eager to leave and find out for herself.

"W-what kind of Pokémon are they...?" Celina inquires, her expression remaining joyful.

"Why don't you come with me and find out, cousin? Iki Town's not that far from here." Professor Kukui suggests.

He didn't have to tell her twice. Celina bolts out of the room and scrambles inside of her room, almost tripping over the bump in between the doorway. Mabella watches her go before turning back to Kukui. She chuckles at her daughter's excitement.

"She's been excited about this for a whole week. It'll be nice to see her have a pokémon of her own." Mabella admits.

"It's understandable. Our Kahuna's always happy to give any kid, who wants an adventure, their first pokémon. I haven't seen any kid not happy about receiving a pokémon, yeah." Professor Kukui says, glancing over at Celina's door when he hears it open.

Celina marches out of her room with an aura full of determination. She adjusts the strap of her messenger bag and looks over at the adults. Celina flashes them a bright smile. They can't help but return the gesture before the professor speaks.

"You ready to go?" Professor Kukui asks.

"As soon as I say goodbye to my Mama, I will be!" Celina tells him, gripping the strap with both hands.

"Alright, cousin. I'll be outside when you're good to go." Kukui informs her before taking his leave and calmly shuts the door behind him.

Celina walks over to her mother. Mabella turns to her and opens her arms for Celina to enter. She accepts her mother's hug by wrapping her small arms around her waist. Mabella embraces her tightly, the warmth from Celina's small body soothing her anxious heart.

Her baby girl's going to go out on her own again after so long. She knows that Iki Town's nearby, but it didn't stop her from worrying about Celina's safety. To be honest, she wishes Celina didn't have to go, especially at a young age. But at the same time... Mabella wants to see her happy. If that means going on an adventure with her first pokémon, then she'll support her. She'll be waiting here to comfort her child if Celina becomes stuck or feels upset. Mabella understands the hardships of being a Pokémon trainer since her husband used to be one. She had to console him when he was feeling down.

Looking down at her now, Mabella realizes that her father's influence runs strongly in Celina's blood. They both have the same eye color after all. She wonders if some of her husband's spirit went into Celina or if he's looking after her. Mabella didn't know which ones true, but it assures her somewhat that there's a possibility that Celina won't be alone.

"Mama... I can't breathe..." Celina mutters under her mother's tight grip.

"Oh! I'm sorry, sweetie." Mabella let's go, but keeps her at arms length.

They both stare at each other for a moment before they burst out laughing. They hug each other again, but more loosely. Celina takes her mother by surprise by kissing her cheek. She backs away with a small blush and smiles sweetly.

"I'll be back, Mama! I love you!" Celina waves at her with both of her hands and then rushes toward the door.

Mabella watches her leave with a heavy heart, letting Celina go until she returns back in her arms. As soon as Celina takes a step outside and closes the door behind her, Mabella on a nearby chair and let's out a long, sad sigh. Meowth goes over to her and jumps on her lap, crying up at her. She smiles fondly at the little cat and rubs the top of his head. He purrs loudly at the affectionate gesture.

"Thank you, Meowth. At least I'll have you around in this big house." Mabella says, continuing to pet the pokémon until she feels better.

Outside of the residence, Celina scans the area to find the professor. As soon as she takes her last step from her porch, she hears her name from the right. Her head turns to that direction. Celina's eyes land on the professor's form, whose trying to gain her attention by waving. She twists her body and heads toward him, still gripping onto her bag strap. Once she's close enough, Celina stops herself and fixes her glasses to make sure they didn't fall off.

"Now this is more like it, yeah!" Professor Kukui grins at her before pointing down a path, "Through here is a short cut to Iki Town. Come on, let's get you to the Island Kahuna, cousin!"

"Yeah!" Celina shouts in agreement, sharing the same energy as the professor.

"Meet you on the other side, yeah?" Professor Kukui tells her as he begins his walk down the path.

Before Celina follows him, she takes a moment to appreciate mother nature's beauty. The warm wind caresses her skin and the moon's almost as bright as the morning sun. It illuminates the darkness around her, creating safe passage set before her. She packed a flashlight just in case, but it looks like she might not need it.

Good. Celina didn't have to worry about being in the dark by herself. The moon lights on her side. Speaking of which, she should take a picture of this moment. Celina unzips her bag, digs around for her camera and takes out the device. She aims for the sky and steadies her grip. Once she has a good shot, Celina presses the button and snaps a picture.

There we go. It'll be a wonderful picture to add to her photo album, especially this special moment.

Celina pockets the camera and zips her bag. Her gaze turns to the path before her, swallowing nervously. Even if the moonlight's shining, she's still anxious to walk in the semi-dark area. Sighing deeply, she clenches both hands in front of her and nods to herself.

"I can do this...!" Celina encourages herself in hopes of keeping her from being afraid.

Closing her eyes, Celina inhales for a couple of seconds before exhaling slowly. Her eyes then snap open. Feeling a burst of energy coursing through her body, Celina dashes toward the path while her bag fumbles behind her. She even let's out a battle cry while running.

The path ahead is straight forward and easy to follow, so she didn't lose her way. Celina didn't pay much attention to her surroundings as she quickly passes a child and their pokémon. Both of them pause mid-step and watch the crazy girl run up the hill. They look back at each other, shrug and continue on their way.

It didn't take long to find Kukui again. When Celina did reach him, however, it takes her a moment to catch her breath.

She used almost all of her inner strength to reach to this point. The path wasn't even that long and she's already out of breath. How is she suppose to survive on her own like this? The path was like climbing a hill, so that probably didn't help. Looks like she has her work cut out for her. Starting with trying not to use all of her energy at once. Celina has to build up the endurance slowly, so she'll have to walk the rest of the way. At least for a while until she's good and ready to start running again.

"You alright, cousin?" Professor Kukui asks, expressing concern on Celina's condition.

Taking a deep breath, Celina springs back to life and gives him a thumbs up, some sweat trickling down the side of her face.

"I'm a-okay! Just gotta get use to running around again!" Celina quickly assures him before wiping the sweat from her brow.

Professor Kukui nods, seeming to take her word for it as he motions the area around him, "How are you liking Alola? You lovin' it, yeah?"

"Mm! I love it! The atmosphere's completely different than my old home and the moon looks even bigger here. It's great!" Celina compliments, while moving her feet up and down in delight.

Professor Kukui laughs, his usual grin in place, "That's what I like to hear! The more you love Alola, the happier I'll be!"

After he said that, Kukui motions her to follow him and they both walk to the entrance of Iki Town. As they walk together, he explains a few pointers about being a Pokémon trainer. Celina made sure to bring a notepad and pencil just in case she had to jot anything down. She listens intently to the professor's advice, not wanting to feel completely lost when she finally does travel alone. Upon reaching their destination, Celina hears someone trying to gain her attention. She glances up from her notepad to search for the source of the voice. Her eyes land on a little boy within the tall grass, whose waving to gain her attention.

"Howzit! You're the new kid that just moved here, right? Let's have a Pokémon battle sometime!"

It takes Celina a moment to register what he said. A battle, huh...? She wonders if she'll be ready for that kind of action. Oh boy... The journey suddenly looks very hard to her.

Shaking her head to distract herself away from such thoughts, she smiles at the little boy and nods, "I can't wait!"

She watches the little boy resume his battle with an older male and his pokémon. Celina focuses while narrowing her eyes, not noticing that she's being observed by the professor. Kukui chuckles under his breath, finding this entertaining to learn she has another side to her compared to the usual facade she shows. When the little boy instructs his pokémon on what to do next, Celina presses the eraser against her lip and inhales sharply. Her eyes never leave the battle, forgetting to blink.

"You know..." Celina jumps at the sudden sound of Kukui's voice, forgetting that he was there. Her gaze switches from the battle to the professor, her attention on him, "Having Pokémon gives you a whole new way to communicate with other people. Just by observing this battle, you can tell that the pokémon trust their trainers."

"How do you know?" Celina blurts out, her heart suddenly quickening at the blunt question. She's screaming on the inside for revealing a hint of fear that she's been repressing.

"Hm?" Professor Kukui glances over at her.

Celina swallows and looks at him in the eye, taking a deep breath, "How do you know if your Pokémon trusts you?"

"Hmm..." Professor Kukui considers her question for a moment, rubbing his beard. He then glances upward before Kukui slowly smiles, "When you have your own Pokémon..." he turns back to Celina and gives her an assuring smile, "... And been with them for a while, you'll know. Every Pokémon has a different personality, so they'll have their own style on letting you know that they trust you."

Somehow, just by hearing the professor's words, it eases Celina's heart. She's still nervous on how well meeting her first pokémon will go, but... For some reason, deep within her, she has a feeling she'll be okay. By the looks of it too, professor Kukui didn't look stressed out when he spoke those encouraging words.

Speaking of which, professor Kukui leans forward a little with his closed hands on his hips. His smile turns into his usual grin, "Iki Town's just behind us. Let's get going, yeah? Your pokémon's waiting for you."

Feeling courage pump through her veins, Celina nods at him and returns the smile with her own, "I'm right behind you!"

Seeing that she's ready to go, professor Kukui turns and leads her to the steps leading to Iki Town. They easily climb toward their destination and stop as soon as their feet touch the ground. Celina gazes around in awe, finding the quaint little town peaceful.

There are some people here, but it's not noisy. They're not shouting to gain someone's attention or running around screaming. It's the kind of life Celina had back at her home town. There was always something going on, especially with the smaller generation. Vermillion City never had a dull moment, so Celina's curious on what kind of life style this place will have. It's something to look forward to.

"We finally made it to Iki Town, yeah!" Professor Kukui cheers.

"Yay...!" Celina throws her arms up in the air and shares his excitement.

He chuckles before continuing, "This town is where folks come to worship the pokémon that watches over Melemele island," Kukui gestures to another area where a platform lies and another path leading somewhere, "Tapu Koko keeps us all safe and happy, see!"

"Tapu Koko..." Celina mutters under her breath, her gaze lingering on the other path leading to who knows where.

"Strange..." Professor Kukui says which catches Celina's attention. He looks around some more to find somebody, but it looks like that particular person isn't here, "We were suppose to meet everybody here, yeah," his eyes trail over to the path in the back while crossing his arms, "Maybe they're all back there on Mahalo Trail."

"Mahalo Trail?' Celina questions, glancing at the trail for a moment and then shifts her gaze back on the professor.

Kukui turns to face Celina, "Yeah, it's where the ruins of our guardian deity, Tapu Koko, are," he trails off, studying Celina. As she tilts her head at him, Kukui nods to himself, "Hey Celina, do me a solid and look for the island Kahuna, yeah?"

"Look for... But what do they look like?" Celina asks, somewhat in disbelief that the professor left this strange task to her.

"The island Kahuna? You can't miss him. He looks just like a kahuna!" Kukui jokes, being vague in his description.

Celina hangs her head in defeat. Well, she better start her work on finding this Kahuna person, whatever he looks like. He's obviously someone important, but what do special people look like here? It hasn't even been twenty four hours since she's been here. Looks like she'll find out the longer she lives here.

She looks back to the trail the professor was talking about and wonders if she should start her search there. He did mention that the Kahuna might be back there, but with the way the professor talked, the Kahuna won't be alone. Hopefully this other person's friendly. There's only one way to find out.

Bringing her head back up, she smiles at the professor and gives him a thumbs up, "I'll be on my way, then! Wish me luck!"

"That's the spirit, yeah! I'll wait around here to make sure we don't miss each other." Kukui says.

"Okay!"

After exchanging words, Celina's feet move toward the center of town. She climbs more steps before approaching the platform. Her fingers brush against the cool wood as she observes the strange design.

There's no words patterned within it. Just a foreign, yet beautiful drawing around the edges of the stage.

As she lifts her head to continue her search, Celina notices something move at the corner of her eye. She adjusts her glasses to focus before looking to her right. A person wearing white clothes and matching hat stands in front of the entrance to Mahalo Trail.

Judging by the long blonde hair, skirt (or dress, Celina's not sure), and big hat, Celina assumes the character in question is a girl.

She watches on, curious about this girl's existence. The large bag that the stranger's carrying shakes unexpectedly. Celina leans forward, heart pounding at what's about to occur. However, the person in question stops whatever's moving in the bag and walks ahead, disappearing from view. It takes her a moment to register that the girl's no longer in her field of vision. Celina feels her body moving forward, unable to suppress the growing need of learning more about this mysterious person. She glances around the area one more time before jogging onward.

As soon as Celina sets foot on the other side, she's greeted by how open the clearing is. There's a long, winding dirt path leading to the ruins that she was told about. From above, the starry sky and moonlight continues to shine the way.

Celina's thankful that she didn't have to struggle her way through the darkness. It would have been a pain if the trees covered this area. Then again, if it were to come to that, she brought a flashlight with her just in case. Always prepare for the unexpected is what she learned in the past. Depending on the situation, of course. Celina can never predict what'll happen in the future, but it's best to keep smiling and continue onward.

So, that's what she's doing right now. With the illuminating moon light guiding her way, Celina makes her way forward to reach the other side. She passes by small statues that have faces on them. Celina's not sure if they're suppose to be angry or happy. Whether it's to intimidate or greet fellow travelers, they look really well-made. Celina notices that there's not a speck of green moss on any of the statues. Whoever's in charge of caring for this path is doing a good job of it. The thought puts a smile on her face as she picks up the pace.

Such happy thoughts come to a sudden halt when she comes across a dire situation. Standing across Celina is the mysterious girl who's watching a small, strange pokémon being picked on. Three Spearows circle around the crying pokémon, pecking at it's body to weaken it. Celina immediately becomes serious, frowning at the unexpected discovery. She rushes toward the girl, furious that she's not doing anything about it.

"What's going on!?" Celina shouts before stopping right behind the girl, ready to give her a piece of her mind.

Celina watches as the girl jumps at the sound of her voice and turns around sharply. When Celina finally sees the girl's face, any rage she felt toward her dissipates. Her green eyes are full of fear, some sweat trailing down the side of her pale skin. She's clenching the strap to the point where her knuckles are whiter than her skin. Celina also notices that her legs are shaking uncontrollably.

She narrows her eyes, not out of anger, but of understanding. Fear can prevent anyone from doing anything, especially if it's to help someone out. She knows that very well.

"P-please..." Celina looks straight at her, hearing the trembling in her voice, "You have to help it! Save Nebby!"

Nebby's the name of the strange pokémon, huh...? Celina turns to the bridge, noticing the cracks and how worn out it is. She bites the inside of cheek. If she runs on that bridge, there's a possibility that it'll break under pressure. However, Celina can't stand there and do nothing either. If only she had a pokémon with her...!

Clicking her tongue, Celina makes up her mind quickly and turns to the girl. She slaps both hands on her shoulder. Celina ignores how her sudden actions startled the frighten girl and speaks.

"You leave this to me!" Celina tells her before grinning, "I'll get your pokémon back!"

Celina only had time to see the girl's eyes widen before she bolts down the bridge. She fiercely reminds herself to not look down, no matter what. The river below roars in her eardrums, louder than the eerie cracks on the unstable bridge. Her heart pounds against her chest, adrenaline pumping through her veins. The bridge swings under Celina's weight. That, however, didn't stop her from pushing onward. With her speed, she made it to Nebby's side quickly.

Now the problem lies in how to rescue the poor thing.

Celina flails her arms around to prevent the Spearows from coming closer. Unfortunately, they dodge her incoming attacks with ease and peck at her instead of Nebby. Celina grunts at the pain, her body lowering to the ground to shield Nebby easier. She shuts her eyes tightly to prevent looking at the river below her. Celina tries not to focus on the stinging pain on her back, but it's hard when they repeatedly attack the same area.

A sudden chill rushes through her body. The hair behind her neck stand abruptly. A resounding boom explodes in her eardrums, almost going deaf when Celina suddenly feels nothing underneath her. Her eyes snap open as she hopelessly watches the bridge break apart. Celina quickly grabs onto Nebby as she falls to her doom. With her back to the river, Celina watches fearfully as the moon becomes smaller the further she descends. Her body's in shock which prevents her from screaming out. Tears threaten to fall from her eyes, frustrated that she can't do anything to help herself or Nebby. She squeezes Nebby close to her and shuts her eyes. Only one thought processes through her mind as she slowly accepts her fate.

 **I'm sorry, Mom... I broke our promise...**

The sound of electricity startles Celina to opening her eyes. An unidentified pokémon reaches out to her, sparks crackling around it's body. She didn't have time to react when it swoops underneath her and cradles her in it's arms. They reach land in no time as the pokémon gently lowers Celina and Nebby to the ground. It then does a high jump and flips over their heads before landing in front of them. Celina stares in awe of the black, humanoid-like pokémon.

It's arms resembles large, wooden shields with simple designs painted on top. The main colors on the pokémon are black, yellow, and especially the orange mane that's sticking up proudly on top of it's head. A glint resonates within the pokémon's patterned left eye, it's colors teal and orange.

Celina and the strange pokémon have a stare off. Just watching the pokémon's movements has Celina holding her breath, intimidated by it's presence. Even if the pokémon did save her life, it didn't change the fact that it pummeled the Spearows easily. She can even hear the weak cry of a Spearow from behind, though Celina didn't dare break eye contact with the pokémon in front of her. Fortunately for her, she didn't have to be the first one to do so.

Electricity crackles around it's body before it roars. Celina winces at the sudden sound, which also affects the girl in front of her. It bends it's knees before shooting into the starry sky, some electricity left behind on the ground. Luckily, it dissipates quickly as the girls watch the pokémon disappear from view. The group's left in silence, unsure of how to respond accordingly to this strange phenomenon. Celina, however, is the first to react by releasing a long sigh of relief as she let's go of Nebby. She falls backwards and lands on the ground, uncaring if she gets dirty.

"I almost died..." Celina mutters this to herself, her body and mind in shock on what just transpired.

She closes her eyes to collect herself. Celina almost felt the cold water before that pokémon rescued her. She shudders at the thought, feeling sick to her stomach. Her heart's still beating rapidly in her chest. As long as she's able to lie here, she'll eventually relax. Celina's alive. and breathing. That's something to be grateful for. She's unsure on how to repay the pokémon back, but if she finds a way to do that... Celina will make sure she goes through with it.

"Um..." Celina cracks open an eye, glancing up at the mysterious girl, finding that she's hovering over her. The girl continues, seeing that she caught Celina's attention, "Are you going to be okay...?"

"Yeah," Celina answers without hesitation, not wanting to worry her. She even smiles at her to make her statement more believable, "I'll be a-okay! I just need a moment to collect myself," Celina motions toward the galaxy-like little pokémon, "At least Nebby's safe, right?"

Speaking of which, Nebby does remind Celina of space. It's small purple and blue body resembles that of a cloud. Not sure if they're suppose to be hands or ears for the pokémon, but the top of it's head resembles the morning sky with glowing crystals that look like stars. A blue blush appears on it's cheek, it's yellow beady eyes looking in between the girls.

"Pew!"

"Th-that's right! You tried using your power again...didn't you?" the young girl sighs and shakes her head, "Oh, Nebby... You know what happened last time you used it. You couldn't move for ages after that."

Celina listens to her fuss over Nebby's safety, gently smiling at the interaction between the two of them. Soon, Nebby floats over to something and this catches both of the girls attention. Nebby cradles something shiny in between it's cloud like hands and floats over to the girl. At this point, Celina has enough strength to stand back on her feet. Grunting, Celina lifts herself up and wipes off the dust from her clothes. She watches as the girl holds the item close to her chest, her face relaxing at the touch.

"This sparkling stone... It feels very warm..." the girl says, a tiny smile forming on her lips while her eyes become distant for a moment.

Celina takes a step toward the girl, seeing if she's alright. The sound of Celina's footsteps draws her back to reality. She looks toward Celina and bows her head.

"Please, forgive me... I am so grateful to you for helping us out of that dangerous spot." the girls expresses her appreciation in a polite tone.

"I forgive you and you're welcome!" Celina exclaims, going back to her usual energetic self.

The girl's taken back by Celina's quick acceptance, looking speechless for a moment. Celina only smiles sweetly at her as she sways side to side. Realization suddenly dawns on her that she doesn't know this girl's name. This might be a good time to ask, considering she's not in danger anymore.

"By the way..." the girl blinks at Celina's curious tone as she continues, "I never got the chance to learn your name. My name's Celina! What's yours?"

Celina notices right away the question causes the girl to tense. Her green eyes dart around the place except on Celina.

Is there a reason why she can't introduce herself? Is she in some sort of trouble? Whatever the case is, Celina only met the girl. She won't push the subject if it'll place that much stress on her. Besides, the timid girl looks like she wouldn't harm anyone. Celina will place her trust in her for the time being.

"If you can't tell me your name, that's okay. I'm sure you have your reasons!" Celina assures, waving her hands around in order to calm the girl down.

"Thank you... Um, I think this belongs to you." the girl says before handing the stone over to Celina.

She graciously accepts the stone. Celina gazes at the colorful rock that looks to have an arrow at the top. She raises an eyebrow at this.

Celina's never seen any kind of arrow on the stones she's used to seeing. Whether it be pebbles or boulders, this is new to her.

She lifts the stone to the sky. The stone sparkles in the moonlight, her hand feeling the warmth oozing out of the mysterious object. The little lady wasn't kidding about this interesting fact.

It's comforting to say the least. The stone seems to erase any sort of anxious feelings she's had. Grasping the stone tightly, she stares down at it with confidence. Celina's ready to meet her partner pokémon and the thought causes a rush of energy to flow through her veins.

"Please..." the girl snaps Celina out of her daze. Celina looks over at the girl while she continues, "Don't tell anyone about this. About seeing Nebby... It's...It's a secret, okay?"

"Okay! And in return..." Celina throws the stone up before swiping it back in her hand again, "You don't tell my Mama about this incident, if you ever have the chance to meet her. Deal?"

The girl nods at her, "I understand."

"Great! Now..." Celina pockets the stone before turning to Nebby, placing both hands on her hips, "What are you going to do with the little guy?"

"It's going to go into my bag. Come on, Nebby," she turns to the floating cloud ball and unzips the messenger, pokeball bag, "Into the bag, please."

"Pew..."

Celina watches the little guy slump it's body before it reluctantly hops into the bag. The girl zips the bag halfway to let the creature breathe. She then turns to Celina and fidgets a little. Celina blinks at her strange behavior, curious to know if there's anything else that she can help the girl with.

"Are you okay...?" Celina gently asks, not wanting to frighten the poor girl.

"Huh!? Oh yes... Um... I'm sorry to ask this of you, but..." she bites her lip and tightens her grip on the strap, "I'm worried we might get attacked again by wild Pokémon or...or something. Can you... Is it okay if you see us back to town...?"

"Sure!" Celina answers without hesitation before giving her a grin, "Let's be on our way, hm? Back to Iki Town we go!"

Celina marches toward the exit with a bewildered girl following behind. She watches Celina continue onward while humming a foreign tune. Her mind flashes briefly to the moment where Celina told her that she'll rescue Nebby. A fire burned fiercly behind those hazel eyes, no hesitation in her decision. It nearly left the girl breathless.

How can someone like her have the strength to dash toward danger? Without having any thoughts for their safety? It's unspeakable. The only heroes that she's used to seeing are the ones in her books. Are there many people like Celina in the Alola region? She did meet some incredible people already by living here for three months. Now that she thinks about it... Where did she hear this name before? It was recent too...

"And... We're here!"

The girl jumps at Celina's sudden exclamation before looking ahead of her. Without a doubt, they're back in Iki Town, the familiar scenery relaxing her mind and body.

"Hey Celina!" Both girls look toward the other side of the platform. Professor Kukui waves at them and smiles, "Looks like you missed the Kahuna, yeah? But you found my assistant, oh yeah!"

"Assistant?" Celina glances back at the mystery girl.

The girl gazes back nervously before she quickly walks over to professor Kukui. Celina hums before shrugging. She then follows closely behind. It didn't take long to reach him.

He greets the girls before motioning toward the mysterious girl, "Looks like you already met, but just in case, this is my assistant!"

"Um..." the girl hesitates for a second before continuing, "M-my name's Lillie. Nice to meet you."

"Hmmm... So your name's Lillie, huh? Good to know! It's nice to meet you as well!" Celina shares the same sentiment, feeling joy in the fact that she now knows Lillie's name.

"And, Lillie, this here is Celina. She just moved here to Alola! Take good care of her!" Kukui introduces the brunette.

Celina waves at her a little, a bright smile on her lips. Lillie bows her head to her as a sudden realization dawns on her.

No wonder the name sounded familiar. Professor Kukui talked about someone moving into Alola today and he did mention a name. Ah... Now she feels embarrassed for not remembering sooner. Take a deep breath, Lillie. It's not a big deal. It'll be okay...-

"Hey!" Lillie lifts her head up, startled by Celina's excited voice. She continues to smile at Lillie before continuing, "I'll be in your care from now on! Please treat me well!"

"Ah..." Lillie starts off before she nods, somehow feeling a little more energetic with Celina's positive attitude, "I-I will...!"

Celina giggles before she hears a commotion nearby. The words "Kahuna Hala" catches her attention, the name making her heart pound against her chest anxiously. Even if she told herself that she's ready to meet her partner pokémon, the experience itself still makes her nervous. While Celina attempts to calm down, this Hala person appears. She now understands why this person looks like a Kahuna.

He's a big guy, someone that resembles a sumo wrestler. His hair and moustache are as white as the moon above them. A yellow floral patterned shirt hangs low to his knees, which covers the white baggy pants and blue shirt underneath. Hala's skin tones dark, a bit darker than professor Kukui's. The last thing that catches Celina's eye is the rope that's tied around the Kahuna's waist.

Is this what all Kahuna's wear? This must be part of their culture tradition. Celina's not sure since she just met the guy.

"Have I miss something?" Hala's deep, gruff voice resonates the area.

"Naw, but where'd you go off to, Kahuna? I thought we were meeting here." Kukui asks.

Hala approaches the group before stopping in front of Kukui, "I am Kahuna of this island, after all. Whenever there is a problem on the island, it is my duty to resolve it."

So, Hala's a nice guy, which Celina shouldn't be that surprised about. With the way the people praised when he returned and how the professor's treating him with respect, it sets Celina at ease. He does look like someone who can intimidate a Pokémon trainer, but right now? Her nerves are dissipating, so Celina's no longer anxious to speak to the Kahuna.

Speaking of which, Hala glances up at the sky while furrowing his white eyebrows, "I thought I saw Tapu Koko flying about..."

Lillie steps forward and nods, her grip tightening on her bag strap, "Oh, um... Yes, Kahuna Hala... Nebby was being attacked by Spearow on the Plank Bridge when this girl helped it get away..."

"Psst...! Lillie...! I thought your pokémon was a secret!" Celina whispers harshly while covering the side of her mouth, staring at Lillie in disbelief.

Didn't she just tell her that Celina couldn't tell anyone about Nebby? What's she doing going around and telling these people? Does she not know what a secret is?

"I-It's okay, Celina... They already know about Nebby." Lillie informs her, reeling back at how close she is.

"Oh, really?" Celina drops her hand and looks over at the two men, smiling sheepishly, "Don't mind me then. Go ahead, Lillie."

Lillie nods as she continues her explanation of the events that happened earlier. Both of the men listen quietly. After Lillie finishes, professor Kukui laughs.

"Woo! That's something you don't hear every day!" Kukui cheers.

"Ho! Although it is said to protect us, our Tapu Koko is a rather fickle creature. Yet our guardian was moved to save you." Hala admits while chuckling, his stomach bouncing a little.

"Aha ha ha ha... I'm glad that it did make a move." Celina laughs nervously, grateful that she's able to stand here and have this conversation right now.

"Kukui, my boy, I think we have cause to celebrate!" Everyone turns to Hala before he continues, "It seems I should entrust this brave and kind young girl with a pokémon of her own. We'll make a fine Trainer out of her!"

Celina inhales sharply, waiting to hear those words from the Kahuna for a while now. Her very own pokémon... And Hala's going to give her one right now. She feels like she's in a dream, but the fact is that she's actually right there, standing before the Kahuna. Celina feels herself sway, her mind in a lovely daze.

Kahuna Hala seems to notice this change as he chuckles. He steps toward her. Celina quickly snaps out of it and focuses on him.

Hala smiles gently at her before introducing himself, "I'm glad to meet you, child. I am Hala, the Kahuna of Melemele Island," Hala then spreads his arms out in a warm greeting, "Welcome to Alola! Young Kukui had told me of your coming. I'm glad we got the chance to meet today."

"I'm happy to meet you too!" Celina greets him back with a cheerful smile.

Hala's smile widens a little before he brings out three pokeballs. He turns to face the platform and enlarges the three pokeballs, "Come, my Pokémon! Let's have a look at you!"

Everyone's attention lies on the platform when the Kahuna throws the pokeballs into the air. Celina watches in anticipation as the pokeballs open and release the three Pokémon from within. Three different species land on top of the platform and cry out in perfect harmony. A moment passes before Celina squeals upon seeing the Pokémon.

"They're so cuuutteee...!" Celina compliments, practically melting at the sight of them.

Kahuna Hala laughs at Celina's reaction, proud that the Pokémon before her caused such a wonderful response. Once Celina calms down, Hala points to one pokémon at a time to introduce them.

"First is the Grass-type pokémon, Rowlet!"

Rowlet's a small, owl pokémon. On the area where it's neck lies is a cute leaf bowtie. With it's round, light brown body and short legs, Rowlet twirls around while 'koo'ing.

"Next is the Fire-type pokémon, Litten!"

Litten, as it's name implies without the K, is a black and red kitten. It has red markings on it's forehead and around it's little legs. Litten blinks it's large, red eyes at her. It does a little jump while meowing at Celina.

"And last is the Water-type pokémon, Popplio!"

Popplio's a blue small seal with a light blue ruffle around it's neck. It has a long white snout with a round, pink nose. Popplio's black eyes are large, which closes when it performs by clapping it's back flippers together.

All of them look so wonderful and it would be great to have either of them by her side. Celina bites her lip, still undecided on who to choose. She turns to Hala.

"Kahuna Hala, can I please take a picture of these three before I choose?" Celina requests, internally hoping that he'll agree to it.

"Hm... I don't see why not. Go right ahead!" Hala gives her a nod of approval.

Celina pumps her fist before digging through her bag. She quickly takes out the camera, fumbles with it before facing the Pokémon's direction. Once Celina has a good shot, she snaps a picture. Afterward, she slowly lowers the camera and makes up her mind, a gentle smile on her features.

"I choose..."

* * *

 _ **To be continued...**_

So... This is a thing. I hope you enjoy this thing. I was a little nervous about uploading this story since I've never done this type of character before, so this will be new to me. But, I went ahead and did it since it was refreshing doing something else, you know? Instead of the usual Sonic stories, I thought I try my hand at a Pokémon fanfic. I actually wanted to try doing that for a long time now, but I didn't have the courage to do so back then. I do now and I hope that you guys enjoy reading this.

There's only going to be one rule for this story. For me to be able to continue, I need at least _**one**_ review. That's it. It can be a short or long one. It doesn't matter. I'm going to be working very hard on this story and of course, at my own pace. I would love to hear feedback from you guys. Tell me how I'm doing or if there's something I need to fix. Let me know. I won't bite. ^^

Another thing before I end this. On my profile, you can keep check on how far along I am from completing a chapter. I'll make sure to update it frequently so I won't keep you guys in suspense.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I shall see you all next time on chapter two. See ya~!

 _ **Disclaimer: I own my character, Celina. I only came up with a name for her mom since it can be redundant seeing 'her mother' or 'mom' in the story. I'll only say this once for the first chapter. Thank you for reading!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Important information at the bottom of the chapter. Before anyone panics, it's nothing serious. Thank you!**

 **Disclaimer: I only own Celina. Nobody else.**

* * *

The moment Celina's eyes land on her future partner, her heart skips a beat. There's something about this one that pulls at her mind to choose it. Is it the type that drew her attention? Appearance? Or is it perhaps the sweet, innocent gaze that it's using to lure her to choose it? Celina's unsure which one's correct, but whatever it is, it's slowly working. There's just one thing she has to make sure of before her decision's final.

Did she want her journey to be easy without any fears? Or did she want to have a hard one that involves overcoming her fears?

Celina has to carefully think through her choices. It's not something she should take lightly. Once she makes that call on who she wants, there's no going back. Out of the three types, two of them would make her journey easier on her mind. However, the other type would be beneficial on facing her fear, but it would be hard. Celina recalls the promise she made to herself several months ago.

She promised that no matter what pokémon she chose, Celina would love and support it to the best of her ability. Regardless of how easy or hard her journey will be. So, what kind of adventure did she want?

Celina hears a low whine coming from her future pokémon. She smiles, laughing mentally to herself. Who is she fooling? Celina already chose her pokémon when she took that picture. She just wanted to go over the pro and cons before actually going through with it. Besides, how can she say no to that adorable face?

Smiling warmly, Celina pockets the camera away in her bag and slowly lifts her hand. Using her index finger to point, she easily let's it land on Popplio, the water-type pokémon. Popplio, realizing that Celina chose him, beams at her before clapping his flippers together, an overwhelming feeling of joy filling up his small body. Celina giggles at his reaction before speaking.

"I choose Popplio." Celina says, still smiling at her decision.

"A good choice! However..." Hala turns to Celina. She follows his example before he continues, "Only when you have chosen each other can you truly call each other partners."

Her face almost falls upon hearing those pressuring words. She keeps it together, though her nerves are acting up again. Celina swallows, her smile morphing into an anxious one.

In order to become a full fledge trainer, the little guy has to choose her as his partner. She can feel her chest tightening inside, but that didn't stop her from giving Hala a nod. Kahuna Hala gestures her to the platform before calling back the other pokémon. With Popplio being the only one left, Celina walks around and steps up to the stage. Both of them stand (or sit in Popplio's case) across from one another, which is about two feet apart. Taking a deep breath, she gazes at Popplio with a friendly smile, trying to keep her emotions under control.

She didn't want to frighten or make him nervous. Celina has to remain calm and keep smiling. That's what kept her going in life. Easier said than done when her hearts beating like crazy.

"Let us see..." Celina tilts her head toward Hala, her eyes briefly glancing at him before turning to Popplio again, "...if little Popplio there also decides to choose you!"

As soon as Hala spoke, both Celina and Popplio have a stare off. Popplio gazes sweetly at Celina, his eyes trailing over to her trembling hands.

Even with a smile on her face, Celina can't control every part of her body at once. Celina didn't seem aware that her hands are shaking since her focus' on Popplio.

He tilts his head at her, whining under his breath. Popplio brings his flippers forward and claps happily. The gesture surprises Celina, her eyes widening as she watches him perform.

Is the little guy trying to calm her down...?

Celina wants to burst into tears at Popplio's support. She finds it endearing that he's trying to cheer her up, even if they're not officially partners yet. The scene warms her beating heart as it slowly relaxes. As soon as her nerves calm down, Celina suddenly wants to do something for Popplio. An idea comes to mind.

Popplio soon hears Celina giggling. He pauses mid clap and tilts his head at her, his eyes gazing quizzically at her. Celina hums before lowering herself to the ground and lies on her stomach, propping her arms so her chin rests on top of her palms.

"Professor... What's Celina doing...?" Lillie whispers to him, her eyes not leaving the platform, though she's at a loss on what Celina's thinking.

"Not sure, yeah, but it looks interesting. Let's see what happens." Kukui suggests, stroking his beard as he watches on, curious on Celina's next move.

After their quick conversation, Celina kicks her legs back and forth before removing her chin from her palms. She suddenly claps twice, her smile bright as she does this. Popplio's floppy ears twitch at the sound, his eyes sparkling at the gesture. Celina does it again. This time Popplio follows through by using his flippers to clap along with her. She pauses for a moment, seeing that her silly idea worked. Popplio gazes at her warmly, his flippers poising in front of him.

Celina has an overwhelming feeling of wanting to scream. He's so cute! The way he's looking at her makes her squirm with happiness. Popplio's also ready to perform with her. Can he be any cuter? It's surprising that her little idea went smoothly, but she's ecstatic that it did. She has an adorable pokémon copying her movements. What more could she want? Well, maybe to be his partner, but Celina will leave that up to Popplio. At least she'll have fun while letting Popplio decide.

Urging herself to continue (and not squeal), she claps once more. Popplio joins her until the two of them are performing together. Celina sways her head while doing a small cheer, giggling along with Popplio's cries. Lillie watches the two interact, feeling herself smile at the scene before her.

During her time here, she's witnessed other people stand on the platform with their pokémon of choice. All of them would wait patiently on the other side. Thankfully, the pokémon would choose their owners right away and people left with a smile on their faces. While observing the two now, Lillie realizes that this is the first time she's witnessing someone doing a different approach. Celina's still on the other side, but instead of waiting quietly, she's performing with Popplio. To be honest, it's refreshing to see something different every once in a while.

"Looks like Popplio's made his choice, yeah." Professor Kukui points out, a grin on his face.

Lillie watches as Popplio squeals while clapping. He then claps his back flippers before rushing toward Celina. He stops in front of her and gazes up at Celina with a sweet, innocent expression. Celina smiles at him, winking at the little pokémon before giggling. Popplio let's out another cry as he pokes her arm with his nose. He closes his eyes and sways side to side, his mouth curving into a smile.

"Bwark!"

He's chosen her as his partner. Their partnership's final and Celina's overjoyed. Her smile widens into an enthusiastic grin as she grabs Popplio gently. She lifts herself and Popplio up until she stretches her arms toward the sky. Popplio's hovering above Celina's face, the moonlight above him making his eyes glow. Feeling excitement coursing through her veins, she dances while bobbing Popplio side to side.

"I...gotta pokémon...! Lookie look! Popplio's my...partner now...! Yay! Yay!" Celina cheers, giggling when Popplio dances with her.

Taking a deep breath, Popplio inhales a large amount of oxygen. He then exhales through his nose until a small water bubble forms. This action takes Celina by surprise. She stops dancing as she watches the bubble grow bigger. She looks on with wide eyes, the bubble snapping off of Popplio's nose. The two of them observe the bubble floating higher until it's hovering above Celina's head. Celina's pupils shrink, her mouth agape on what's transpiring. Popplio's barking at his work, clapping his flippers together. It suddenly pops. Celina didn't have time to react when cold water sprinkles on her. Popplio squeals happily as Celina stands there dripping wet. A moment passes before Celina shakes off the water from her body, a tense smile on her lips. After she's done, she brings Popplio closer to her and gazes down at him.

So, this is what it feels like to have a pokémon. The warmth that Popplio's producing eases her nerves, despite the watery episode. It's a wonderful experience being able to hold Popplio in her arms. He looks so happy, with the way he's clapping his flippers as she squeezes him. The choice she's made to have a water-type pokémon... It causes a reaction. On the inside and outside. She'll be around water more often. That's a fact. To see what Popplio can do makes her nervous, but she steels herself. Celina knew that once she chose Popplio, her journey will be hard. There's no going back and she will _not_ change her mind.

Once she sets her mind on something, Celina will not let anyone, including herself, steer her in the other direction. Besides, if she were to change her mind now, Celina would feel guilty for a long time. She did not want that negativity lingering with her.

Celina clenches her one hand, firing herself up. Popplio might be that chance she's looking for to overcome her fear of the ocean. She only hopes that she'll be a great trainer to him and support him when he needs it.

A rouge water droplet trails from her hair to her eyes. Moving the glasses, she wipes away the excess water. She glances back at Popplio again, a name popping up in her head. A beautiful gem with it's remarkable deep shade of blue. Celina's eyes sparkle as she goes to speak.

"How would you like to be called Lapis?" Celina asks, searching for any signs of a negative response.

"Bwark bwark!" Popplio, now Lapis, squeals while bobbing his head side to side.

Celina giggles as she hugs him tighter. She then hears footsteps approach her from behind. She turns around to face the group and gives them a bright smile.

"Look look!" Celina lifts Lapis to them and does a little dance, "He accepted me! We're partners now!"

"Congratulations, cousin! Having accepted one another, you'll surely be friends for life!" Professor Kukui comments, a proud grin on his face.

"Friends for life... That sounds lovely..." Celina says, going into a joyful daze while wearing a goofy smile.

Both of the men chuckle at her expression before Lillie comes up to Celina. A look of concern appears on her face as she speaks.

"Are you okay...? You're still soaking wet." Lillie asks.

Celina snaps out of her daze, her smile morphing into an assuring one, "Mm! I'm a-okay! A little water never hurt anybody!"

For the time being, she'll hide the fact that being around water makes her uncomfortable. The little stunt that Lapis pulled did make her tense, but it didn't freak her out. She had to grow out of being afraid of taking a shower or drinking water to survive. Her mother saw to that. Mabella supported Celina all the way and because of that, Celina's able to stand normal water. At least, most of it.

"I'm glad to hear that," Lillie admits, smiling faintly before lowering her gaze on Lapis, "It's nice to meet you, Popplio!"

Lapis bobs his head, clapping his flippers while letting out a cry. Celina giggles before noticing the sneaky Nebby floating beside Lillie. It does a little wave as it cries out. Lillie jumps a little, her attention on Nebby now. She puffs the side of her cheek, preparing to fuss over Nebby.

"Oh, Nebby... How long have you been out? I know that kahuna Hala and the professor will keep you safe from any harm, but you should still stay in the bag and out of sight. It's safer that way." Lillie tells it.

However, Nebby floats towards Celina and cries up at her. She tilts her head a bit before gesturing towards Lapis. Nebby's expression forms into a happy one, eyes closed and mouth turning upwards into a smile. Celina backs up a little before gently setting Lapis down in front of Nebby. She watches as the two converse even if she can't understand what they're saying. Nebby says something that makes Lapis squeal, making a water bubble from his nose again. Celina consciously steps closer to Lillie, switching her attention from them onto her.

She didn't notice this until now, but Lillie's taller than her. Only by a couple of inches though. With all that's happened not too long ago, Celina's not surprised she missed a detail about Lillie. There will be chances of Celina learning more about Lillie, but not tonight. Celina's not going to exhaust her mind like that.

"Woo, looks like those two are getting along nicely, yeah?" Professor Kukui points out, drawing the girls attention onto him.

Celina glances at Lapis for a moment, seeing that's he's having a good time. She slowly nods before turning back to Kukui, grinning.

"Yeah! I'm happy that he's already making friends!" Celina agrees, already proud of Lapis' achievement of gaining a friend.

Professor Kukui nods, returning the gesture as he shuffles through his lap coat to grab something, "And I'm sure with his new trainer, he'll have more friends, woo!"

"Woo!" Celina shares his excitement, laughing at her choice of words.

He chuckles as he brings out a large, red machine with a screen in the front. Celina stares quizzically at it as Kukui hands it to her. She tenderly takes the machine and looks at it, never seeing something like this before.

The machine's big in her small hands. A blank screen lies in the front with two big ovals connecting to the screen from the top. It almost reminds her of a bunny with how it's shaped. Two small, black buttons are on either side of the screen and there's two red bumps at the bottom of the machine.

"Professor..." Celina trails off, lifting her head to meet Kukui's face, "... What is this?"

"That's called a poké dex. It's a real high-tech kinda tool, yeah, that can automatically record facts about any pokémon that you meet. Consider it a lovely gift for this special occasion, cousin." Kukui explains.

"Oh. Ohhh... Ooooohhh...!" Celina exclaims, running in place as she holds the poké dex in front of her, "I got a poké dex! I actually have one! Oh...! Oh I'm so happy beyond words! Ah!" Celina stops running in place to express her gratitude to Kukui, "Thank you so much, Professor! This gift is great!"

Kukui laughs at her positive energy, feeling some of it rub off on him, "You're welcome! Your new partner Popplio is already registered, oh yeah, so make sure to check it out!"

"Will do, Professor!" Celina assures before something else is placed in her hand. She immediately recognizes the leather material, "Oh! My trainer's passport!"

It's a dark blue passport with sixteen pages inside. On the very first page is her profile. In the top left is a picture of her that she picked three days ago when she was still in Kanto. However, to fit in the passport, it's smaller than her original picture. There's some information in the middle that tells her name and ID number. After looking through the rest of the pages, Celina didn't find anything else since they're all blank.

"You should have everything you need to start your journey. But before that..." Kukui places his hands on his waist before grinning, "Why don't you introduce your new friend to your mom, Celina?"

"Oh, Mama will be ecstatic! I can't wait to show her Lapis!" Celina shoves the passport and poké dex in her bag. She'll play around with it once she reaches her home. She turns to Lapis and kneels down, outstretching her arms to pick him up, "Come on, Lapis! I'm going to introduce you to my Mama!"

Lapis' one ear twitches upon hearing his name. He turns to the voice and notices Celina reaching out to him. Lapis claps the back of his flippers before rushing over to her. She smiles down at him once he reaches her. Celina then scoops him up and holds him close to hers. Lapis wiggles within her grasp, trying to make himself comfortable. Once he finds a good position, he relaxes in her arms. Celina giggles quietly as she looks up at the two men.

"Thank you for introducing Lapis to me and giving me a chance to be a pokémon trainer," Using one hand while holding onto Lapis with the other, she pumps her fist in front of her and grins, "I won't let you guys down!"

"Ho! You're quite welcome, child. We'll keep your conviction in mind." Hala says as he chuckles, amused by Celina's fiery energy.

"I'll see you tomorrow, cousin. There's still a couple of things that I have to teach you, yeah!" Kukui tells her.

"Okay!" she turns to Lillie next, her smile softening a little, "Will I see you tomorrow too?"

"Yes, I'll be with the professor tomorrow." Lillie assures with a nod.

"Hooray...! Then, I'll see you guys tomorrow. Bye...!" Celina cheers before waving at them.

She then turns around and quickly descends the stairs. Celina makes sure she has a good grip on Lapis. Once she does, Celina rushes toward the other set of stairs that lead to the other side of Iki Town. She sings, 'I got a cute pokémon', to herself continuously. This causes Lapis to squeal along with her, both of them delighted beyond words. Celina giggles as she kisses the top of his head.

"Bwark...!" Lapis cries out, raising his head up to look at Celina, gazing at her sweetly.

Celina meets his eyes and leans down to poke his nose with her own. Lapis immediately claps his flippers together before bouncing in her arms, happily accepting the affectionate gesture. Celina follows his example by skipping toward the exit while humming joyfully.

"Heeeey...!"

A sudden shout causes Celina to skid to a stop. Lapis perks his head and looks around, wondering why they stopped. Celina looks up to see a boy running towards her from the town's entrance. She watches him curiously as he stops in front of her, kneeling over a little and pants.

He looks to be around the same age as her, though about an inch shorter. His dark green hair's tied up in a high ponytail. It strangely resembles kahuna Hala's hairstyle. There's two orange clips on top of his head while two, thick strands of his hair, hang freely on either side of his face. The boy's skin color's dark brown that goes nicely with his black t-shirt and yellow shorts. On his shorts are big, orange flowers that match the same color as his shoes and backpack. After catching his breath, he opens his gray eyes and grins at her, standing upright afterwards.

"Are you Celina...?!" the boy asks her, his form shaking nonstop.

"Yes! And you are...?" Celina confirms without hesitation, smiling at the boy.

She watches as the boy jumps happily at her answer before taking out a poké ball. Celina raises an eyebrow at this, puzzled on what he's going to do with that ball. He thrusts it forward, his grin widening excitedly.

"Let's have a battle!" he shouts enthusiastically, his gray eyes bright.

It takes a moment for Celina to digest the sudden challenge. When she does, her eyes widen and she let's out a surprised gasp.

She just became a pokémon trainer and Celina already has someone challenging her?! Does this happen to everyone that becomes a pokémon trainer? A battle right away? Celina isn't even over the fact that she was given a pokémon. She was enjoying the moment with Lapis when reality slaps her. Now, Celina understands that becoming a trainer, she has to accept challenges from other trainers. That's not the problem. She thought she would start her battles tomorrow with a fresh mind.

Apparently, that's not the case.

Celina's growing exhausted from being extra hyper to those around her, so this abrupt moment that's taking place has her sighing mentally. She was hoping to head home right away with Lapis and introduce him to her mother. Looks like she'll have to wait longer for that to happen.

Composing herself, Celina forces a smile and tilts her head, "A battle...?"

"Dahahaha...!" Both of the kids jump at the sudden laughter. They turn to the source, watching as Hala, Lillie and Kukui come down the stairs. Hala walks up to the boy, chuckling, "Where's the fire, boy? What kind of battle would that be where you don't even give a name first, eh?"

The boy faces Hala, scratching his head sheepishly before turning back to Celina. He places his hands behind his head, the grin on his face still remaining.

"Fair enough. Then I'm Hau. And my partner's Litten!" the boy, Hau, introduces himself and his pokémon before he points at Lapis, "Your Popplio looks really cool, too!"

Celina brightens upon hearing the compliment about her pokémon, her smile morphing into a happy one, "Thank you!" she notices Litten come over to Hau and uses it's body to rub against his leg, "Awww... Your Litten's adorable...!"

Hau rubs his nose, chuckling at the ticklish feeling on his leg before he speaks, "Thanks! Now, let's battle!"

This guy _really_ wants to battle her. She laughs weakly, finding herself nervous at the possibility of battling him. This is something she's never personally experienced before. Celina's seen pokémon battles on TV before when she was still living in Kanto. Now that she's standing in front of a challenger, Celina's curious if anyone's felt anxious battling for the first time. She can't be the only one, right? Celina wonders if she'll even win...

"-... I've been looking all over for you!"

Celina snaps out of her thoughts when she hears Hau's voice. She blinks a couple of times before pointing at herself, dumbfounded.

"Me?" Celina asks, seeing Hau nod in response to her question.

"Yeah! I couldn't wait for you in Iki Town, so I tried to find you. Guess we missed each other." Hau grins sheepishly, his pokémon meowing in response to his words.

Celina can't help but smile back at him, finding his grin contagious. She then hears Lillie shuffle behind her. Celina looks over her shoulder at the girl. Lillie notices Celina looking at her and smiles nervously, looking down for a moment before gazing back at Celina.

"I don't really like to see pokémon battles where pokémon can get hurt...but I'll watch for you." Lillie admits, squeezing her bag strap to prepare herself.

Lillie didn't like pokémon battles, but she's willing to watch them for Celina. She finds that admirable of Lillie. It's not often that Celina comes across someone who didn't like something, but does it anyway to show their support. A rare friend... Ah... Friend... She hopes she can become good friends with Lillie, even if they just met.

"Thank you, Lillie. I appreciate you doing that." Celina says, her smile gentle.

She widen her eyes at Celina's gratitude, surprised by the sudden gesture. Lillie shakes her head to compose herself before nodding, her smile growing a bit, "You're welcome."

Celina only giggles at her before looking forward, her eyes landing on Hau. She picks up on Kukui's encouraging words, saying to dash out some moves to see who'll win. Celina closes her eyes to ponder on both of their words. She's receiving support from behind. Her heart beats hard, but steady against her chest. Celina can't remove her anxious feelings. At least, not all of it. However, with the two of them behind her, she feels less afraid.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly opens her eyes and grins at the boy in front of her. If Hau wants a battle, he's got it!

"I accept your challenge...!" Celina acknowledges Hau's request, her body tensing after shouting those bold words.

Hau's grin widens, fist pumping in front of him. Lapis squirms in her grasp, which causes Celina to let go in surprise. He lands in front of her, rearing himself for battle. Litten, noticing Lapis' battle position, meows before moving in front of Hau. It lowers it's head, growling under it's breath. Both pokémon are ready to fight for their trainers!

"Woo! Both of them look ready to go, oh yeah!" Kukui cheers, pumped to see which one wins.

"I appreciate you being willing to take on my grandson here. I expect a no-holds-barred battle from the both of you!" Hala tells them.

"Okay, but before we begin..." Celina suddenly remembers one important detail she forgot to ask before she left. Her cheeks flush a little, embarrassed to ask, "... How can I figure out Lapis' moves?"

"From your poké dex!" Kukui informs her, coming to her side quickly, "Let me show you real fast, yeah?"

"O-okay!" Celina stutters and she mentally kicks herself for that, but focuses on trying to find the machine in her bag. Once she feels the cool, metal surface, Celina grabs it and brings it out, "Found it!"

"Okay, now here's what you do..." Kukui leans over a little to properly show and explain to her.

As Kukui tells Celina the functions of the poké dex, Hau remains patient on the other side. He understands the feeling of not knowing what to do for the first time. It was confusing and he had to learn a lot to get where he is right now. He remembers the first time he battled someone. Unfortunately, he lost, but Hau had a lot of fun with his pokémon. So, Hau didn't rush Celina. Battling other trainer's suppose to be a great experience, not a stressful one. Watching Celina nod to every Kukui's word, her expression serious and focused, causes Hau to grin.

This battle will be great!

"Okay, I understand now. Thank you, Professor!" Celina appreciates his help.

"No problem, cousin! Have fun!" Kukui tells her as he goes to stand on the side.

Lillie and Hala join him as the two trainers face each other. Both of their pokémon are out to gain favor from their respectful trainer. Hala clears his throat before speaking.

"Very well, then!" Hala raises a hand, both trainers preparing themselves, "Let the Pokémon battle begin!" he quickly lowers his hand after shouting.

"Bwark...!"

"Mrowr...!"

Unable to hold back his excitement any longer, Hau raises his hand and points at Lapis, "Litten, use Scratch!"

Litten licks his paw before a glint appears in his eye. Sharp claws suddenly extend from his paws. Celina swallows nervously. Before she can blink, Litten darts toward Lapis with incredible speed. He then leaps and swipes at Lapis. Celina's unable to react in time when Litten inflicts damage on Lapis. The blue seal cries out in pain, holding his face from the scratch marks. Celina's heart skips a beat, wincing as Lapis squirms in place.

Think, Celina, think...! Lapis knows three moves: pound, growl and water gun. Since Litten's a fire type pokémon, water gun will be the most effective. However, to be able to use the move, she has to time the attack just right. Since Litten's close in range, Celina will have to strike now or never!

"Lapis...!" the blue seal removes his flippers from his face, slowly raising his head to Celina's voice, "... Use water gun!"

Narrowing his eyes, the water rumbles within the seal's body. Litten widens his eyes, sensing something coming from Lapis. He starts to turn to avoid the attack. Litten isn't quick enough. Taking a deep breath, Lapis leans his head back. Once all of the water's gathered at his nose, Lapis quickly dips his head forward as water bursts out and heads straight for Litten.

"Mrowr...!"

The water hits successfully as the pressure sends Litten flying toward Hau. The fiery cat lands in front of Hau, meowing weakly from the painful encounter.

 _ **It was super effective...!**_

Celina's eyes widen, her heart pounding against her chest. An overwhelming feeling of excitement courses through her veins as realization dawns on her. The first one would be that she, or rather Lapis, successfully pulled off a move and hit the target. On her first try. Celina's unsure if it was luck or skill, but the experience was amazing. This is what a pokémon battle's like. No longer is she tired. Rather, Celina feels more awake than ever. No wonder many trainers enjoy battling. She can finally relate to their feelings. The second thing she notices...was that Celina faced the water without tensing up. She felt more joy than fear when Lapis used water gun.

Was it because she didn't have time to think about her fear of water...?

Her good feelings come to an end when Litten stands once more. Hau cheers for the fiery cat. Litten stomps his front paw forward and hisses at his opponent. Lapis lowers his head, preparing to attack on Celina's order. Lillie looks in between the two trainers, feeling some tension in the air. There's a moment of silence until the two of them raise their hands simultaneously. They point at each other.

"Litten, use scratch again!"

"Lapis, use pound!"

Both pokémon let out a battle cry before they follow through with the order. Litten dashes toward Lapis, claws already out to attack. Lapis follows his example, but prepares his body to slam into Litten. Both of them reach each other, their attacks ready to inflict damage. Unfortunately, Litten has the upper hand in speed and swipes at Lapis' face once more. Lapis yelps at the stinging pain, forcing his head to turn to avoid further damage. Celina chews the inside of her cheek before she points at the opponent. Litten's at close range again, so she'll finish this with one more move!

"Litten's close, Lapis! Use water gun!" Celina shouts, all fired up.

"Dodge it, Litten!"

Lapis' one ear twitches upon hearing the command. He summons the water up to his nose before swinging his head toward Litten. The cat pokémon's too close to dodge in time before he's hit with the burst of water. Litten flies back to Hau, but this time he faints in front of his feet.

"Litten's unable to battle! Popplio's the winner!" Hala exclaims.

Celina stares at the scene before her, dumbfounded. Lapis' standing tall, raising his head to let out a cheerful cry. He then turns to rush toward Celina. Once he reaches her, Lapis lifts his head and gazes at her lovingly, eyes full of hope. She looks down at the sweet pokémon. Her heart swells at the sight, feeling so proud of Lapis' first win and how well he fought. A burst of excitement courses through her as she picks Lapis up and gives him a big hug, her cheek nuzzling against his.

"You did it! Oh...! I'm so proud of you! You did a great job out there!" Celina rambles off many compliments to Lapis, unable to suppress the positive feelings.

"Bwark! Bwark!" Lapis squeals happily at Celina's words, returning the affections without hesitation.

Hau tends to Litten's well being before glancing up at Celina and Lapis. He grins at their enthusiasm, understanding the joy of winning a pokémon battle for the first time. Once Litten's all better, Hau summons him back to his pokéball, letting him rest for the time being. He pockets the item before rushing over to Celina. Noticing the boy coming towards her, she stops and looks at him. Hau continues to grin before outstretching his hand to her. Celina perks up at the gesture, smiling brightly as she grabs his hand. He immediately shakes her hand without restraint, causing Celina to shake a little.

"That was a great battle! Your Popplio was awesome!" Hau compliments, shrugging off the fact that he lost and changes it into a great experience.

Celina's a little dizzy from Hau's energetic handshake. Once everything's in focus, her smile morphs into a grin as she shakes his hand with the same amount of energy. Now it's Hau's turn to wiggle.

"Thank you very much for the battle! Litten was great too!" Celina expresses her gratitude before stopping her handshake, giggling a little at Hau's unfocused gaze.

He shakes his head before looking back at Celina, his grin widening. Hau's ecstatic that the new kid in town has the same energy as him, especially when it comes to pokémon. Oh, he'll have to introduce her to the malasadas here. Hau's curious about Celina's reaction to the delicious snacks. Ah... Just thinking about having one is making him drool. He'll have to make a quick stop at the shop to buy one after this. Hau's grateful that they're open twenty-four seven. He wonders what he should buy...

"Hau...? Haaauuuu..." Celina calls out to him, seeing that his gaze's losing focus and his grin's becoming goofy. After seeing a little bit of drool coming down the side of his mouth, Celina quickly turns her attention to Hala with wide eyes, "Kahuna Hala, I think I lost Hau!"

The big guy bellows his laughter, his stomach jiggling with each movement he makes. Once he recovers, Hala goes to assure her, "The boy's probably thinking about malasadas. Don't worry, child. He'll snap out of it in a moment."

"Malasadas...?" Celina asks, quirking an eyebrow at the foreign name.

All of a sudden, the stone that she received earlier glows faintly in her pocket. Hau snaps out of it and stares at Celina's pocket, eyes wide. Hala steps forward while furrowing his eyebrows.

"Celina..." she raises her gaze to meet Hala's, "Would you be so kind to give me a look at that sparkling stone you have there?"

She nods at him before gently releasing her grip on Hau's hand. Celina shoves her hand in her pocket and shuffles around a bit before feeling the warm stone. She grabs it then pulls the object out and hands it over to Hala. Kahuna Hala takes the stone before examining it, his eyebrows narrowing further.

"Um.. I got that stone after Tapu Koko rescued me. It looks pretty important..." Celina trails off, noticing the serious look on Hau and Hala's face. She becomes a little nervous, swallowing thickly before speaking, "Was I not suppose to pick that up...?"

"Hm?" Hala lifts his head from the stone and looks at Celina, noticing the anxious expression on her face. Chuckling, he gives her an assuring smile before speaking, "It's quite alright. I'm merely surprised that the guardian deity deigned to give you a stone."

Celina slumps her shoulders, releasing a sigh of relief. Lapis pokes his nose against her chin to help reduce stress. She glances down at him and kisses his nose. Lapis squeals at the gesture. Celina smiles as she looks back at Hala, whose rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Perhaps..." Celina tilts her head a little before he continues, "...you are here in Alola, Celina, because this is where you are meant to be."

"..." Celina's at a loss of words for a moment. She looks to the side before speaking, pursing her lips, "I sure hope so. I don't want to have to pack all those boxes and move again."

The sudden, serious tone in Celina's voice causes Hau to crack up. Celina turns to Hau, grinning a bit smugly at his reaction before laughing with him. Lapis claps excitedly, enjoying the interaction between different people. Once the two of them calm down, Hala brings the stone up so the two kids can see it clearly.

"Allow me to borrow this stone for now," noticing the puzzlement on Celina's face, Hala continues, "Fret not! I'll return it to you tomorrow."

"Oh!" she composes herself before nodding, trusting that Hala knows what he's doing, "Then, I'll leave it in your care!"

"Good!" Hala says before stuffing the stone in his pocket. After that, he smiles at Celina and chuckles, "It would seem that you have the makings of a fine trainer. You must do us the honor of joining in our festival tomorrow!"

Celina perks up at the sound of a party. Her eyes brighten at a chance to be a part of something, especially with new friends. She suddenly feels giddy about tomorrow, wondering if she'll be able to sleep. While in her little daze, she hears footsteps approach her, which turns out to be professor Kukui and Lillie. The two of them were having their own conversation nearby. About what, Celina's not sure.

Kukui grins at her, "First I'll make sure you get back home safe today, though, Celina," Kukui glances over at Lillie with the same expression, "Lillie, you should come with us too, yeah. Wouldn't want to go losing you twice in one day. You or that precious pokémon of yours!"

"Yes... I will keep an eye on...-" Lillie goes to say but stops mid sentence, hearing something move behind her.

"Pew!" Nebby cries out from behind Lillie and waves at the group in front of her.

Everyone, except Lillie, laughs while the girl fusses over Nebby. While she tries to usher Nebby back into the bag, Celina turns to Hala and Hau with a big, joyful smile.

"Thank you for today! It was great meeting you both. I'll definitely be here tomorrow for the festival!" Celina promises while expressing her gratitude.

"I can't wait! I'm going to go all out tomorrow. See you until then!" Hau tells her with an enthusiastic grin before waving at her.

"Until tomorrow, Celina. We'll both be here to welcome you when you arrive." Hala informs as he bids her farewell with a nod.

"Great! Bye...!" Celina uses Lapis flipper to wave at them before running after Kukui and Lillie.

Once she catches up, the three of them walk back to her house. Celina didn't realize this until now, but it's cooler at night time. It's bearable to walk through it thankfully. Whenever a random wind rushes by, it makes her shiver from the chilly air. Still, despite the temperature dropping at night, the scenery continues to look lovely. With the way the moonlight shines on the area, it makes plants and random objects glow with pride. If Celina brought more camera rolls with her, she would take a lot of pictures and add it to her photo album. Since she didn't, she'll have to be content with observing her surroundings.

The closer they are to her home, the more fatigue creeps up on her. With all that's happened today, she'll be ecstatic once her head hits the pillow. Nothing beats a good night's rest after a long, eventful day. Of course, Celina will tell her mom about what happened and introduce her to Lapis, but after that, bed time. She's going to need the rest for tomorrow's festival.

"Celina?" Lillie quietly calls out to her, watching as Celina bobs her head every once in a while.

"Hmm...?" Celina mumbles, a yawn escaping her lips afterwards.

"Are you going to be okay?" Lillie asks, her tone full of concern for the brunette beside her.

"Mmmhmmm... I just had a long day," Celina turns to Lillie, smiling tiredly at her, "I moved in today, unpacked most of the boxes in my house, met a lot of people today, rescued Nebby and fell from a bridge..." Celina trails off, her gaze turning upwards, "I'll have to thank Tapu Koko someday for helping us out."

"I want to thank the deity too." Lillie admits, her hand rubbing against the fabric of her bag.

"Then why don't we go together?" Lillie lifts her head to look back at Celina, her eyes wide. Celina continues to smile, "That way, we'll both have a chance to express our thanks. What do you say?"

"I..."

Lillie hesitates while looking to the side, unsure if she wants to burden Celina. Once she timidly looks back at her, she realizes that Celina's expression remains unchanged. Celina still has that smile on her, though Lillie thinks she's softened it a bit? It might be that she's growing more exhausted and only smiling to assure Lillie. Despite how tired Celina is, Lillie's touched and a little worried that Celina will continue to push herself until she receives an answer.

Taking a deep breath, Lillie goes to answer, "O-okay. I would like that."

Celina's smile widens a little at her answer, "Great! It's a promise, okay?" Making sure she has a good hold of Lapis in her one arm, Celina raises her other hand and extends her pinkie finger, "Why don't we pinkie promise, hmm...?"

Lillie stares at Celina's pinkie before looking down at hers. Extending hers, Lillie slowly raises it to meet Celina's. Her little finger's shaking when she almost touches Celina's. Unable to wait for Lillie, Celina grips her pinkie around hers. The sudden gesture startles Lillie. Celina giggles before swaying their conjoined hands together. Lillie watches, dumbfounded. Unable to hold back, Lillie finds herself joining in on the giggles.

While the two of them are having fun, Kukui watches them from over his shoulder, overjoyed that Lillie's having a good time. He'll have to tell his significant other about this. She'll be happy beyond words about Lillie's possible new friend and how she's having a good time.

Looking forward, Kukui notices the path ahead that leads to Celina's house. He calls out to them, "We're here, oh yeah!"

Both girls look up at the sound of his voice and notice they're at the end of the path. Celina pouts since she has to leave Lillie. Despite being tired, she still had a good time with her. She even got Lillie to laugh a little! How great is that!? What a wonderful way to end the day!

Gently letting go Lillie's finger, Celina gestures to her house, "Your welcome anytime to my house, Lillie. Whether it's night or day. If you do come over, I would love to introduce you to my mom."

"O-okay... Thank you," Lillie appreciates the kind invitation before waving at her, "I hope you sleep well. We'll both see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow, cousin!" Kukui tells her.

Celina waves at the two of them, not having the energy to shout a farewell. She watches them depart before she heads over to her house. Lapis, having been quiet for a while, squeals upon reaching the front door. She smiles warmly down at him and kisses the top of his head, thanking fate for bringing them together. Celina then grabs the doorbell and let's herself in, knowing that her mother leaves the door unlocked when she's out. Warm air touches her cheeks as soon as she steps inside. Smiling tiredly, Celina gently places Lapis down for him to grow use to the atmosphere.

"Welcome back, Celina!"

Upon hearing her mother's warm voice, Celina glances toward the kitchen where she resides. Mabella waves at her before coming around the kitchen and straight toward Celina. She sleepily opens her arms, wanting to hug her mom after a long day. Mabella chuckles before accepting the hug and squeezing her tight. Celina snuggles into her mom's embrace, breathing in the perfume she usually wears. It reminds her of cinnamon.

"Bar?" Lapis calls up to the girls, not wanting to be forgotten.

The two of them let go as Mabella looks down at Lapis. A faint blush appears on her cheeks as she squeals how cute he is. Lapis claps his back flippers before swaying side to side, happy with Mabella's reaction. Celina giggles quietly as she kneels and gently rubs the top of his head. Mabella joins her before Celina speaks.

"His name's Lapis and he's a water type pokémon." Celina formally introduces Lapis to her mom.

"A water type...?" Mabella questions as she turns her gaze from Lapis to Celina, "Sweetie, are you sure...? You're not exactly the strongest when around water."

"I know, but..." Celina trails off before looking over at her mom, face beaming with pride, "I was able to watch Lapis battle today. He used water gun twice and I didn't panic... I didn't tremble with fear... I was able to watch on with my head held high," she looks back at Lapis with a soft smile. He gazes back at her curiously, "Mom, I want to overcome my fear and become stronger. For my Pokémon, for you...and for me."

Celina hears sniffling beside her. She turns to see Mabella wipe away a stray tear, her eyes a little watery. Mabella reaches out to Celina and wraps her arms around her, resting her chin on Celina's shoulder. Celina returns the embrace, burying her face in Mabella's shoulder.

"You will always have my support. No matter what you do, no matter where you go... Know that I'll always be cheering you on from afar. Just...please be careful out there," Mabella briefly pulls back to gaze at Celina with a serious, but concerned expression, "The world is a wonderful place, but it's also dangerous. I want you to have a good time with your pokémon, but I also want you to be aware of your surroundings. Can you do that for me?"

"I will!" Celina responds without hesitation, her eyes full of determination.

Mabella smiles warmly at her before squeezing her tight again, "Good. I'm relieved to hear that."

Celina snuggles into her mom's warm embrace, sighing in content. While the two are having a tender moment, Meowth strolls over and stops in front of Lapis. The blue seal turns to the cat, tilting his head curiously. Meowth let's out a cry to introduce himself. Lapis squeals at the warm welcome, bobbing side to side. Meowth purrs happily at the positive gesture. Both females break apart to watch the cute scene before them. They look at each other and laugh. After a little while, Celina releases a long, loud yawn, but covers it up with her hand to not look rude.

"Why don't you get some sleep, Celina? You're going to need your energy for tomorrow." Mabella advises gently.

"Okay... Come on, Lapis. Let's go to bed..." Celina mumbles, willing herself to stand and drag herself to her room.

Lapis lifts a flipper at Meowth to wave goodnight before flopping after Celina. She leaves the door open for him as she grabs her night clothes. Lapis peeks his head inside, glances around until his eyes land on Celina.

"Bwark! Bwark!"

She looks down at him before clapping, happy that he made it to her room, "You made it...! Good job."

He squeals at her praise, moving more inside until he's close to her closet. Once Celina has everything ready, she gently shuts the door and prepares to undress. Lapis curiously glances around the room until his sight lands on her Pikachu poké doll. Tilting his head, he flops over to the doll and gazes up at it. The doll's resting on top of small stand, but he's too short to touch it. Since Lapis can't reach it, he'll greet it from below.

"Bar? Bwark bwark!"

Celina buttons up the last part of her top before she turns to see what's going on. She watches with amusement at Lapis' determination to talk with her doll. He's so cute. She loves the little dork. Giggling, Celina walks over to her poké doll, picks it up and sits on the ground facing Lapis. She moves the doll around until she has Lapis' undivided attention. Once Celina does, she uses the top of the poké doll's head and kiss Lapis' head while smacking her lips together. Celina has to cover her giggles when she notices Lapis' expression.

His eyes are wide at the sudden action, mouth agape. Lapis then snaps out of it, squeals and then tackles the poké doll. Celina immediately releases the doll as she watches Lapis roll around with it.

An idea suddenly comes to mind.

She tip toes over to her bag, quietly rummages through her things and pulls out her camera. Celina turns around, smiling at the adorable scene before angling the shot. Once she has it, she snaps a picture and sets the camera aside. Celina watches him play for a while before glancing at the clock. It's almost midnight and way past her bed time. Laughing nervously, she walks over to Lapis and gently picks him up. He makes a little sound, but Celina only smiles while holding him tenderly. She turns on a night light and then turns the lamp off. Celina makes it to bed and climbs in it, carefully cradling Lapis with one arm. Once the two of them are settled in, Celina releases a content sigh, already feeling the warmth from the blanket.

"Bar..?"

She looks over at Lapis. Celina reaches over and cradles his cheek, her thumb rubbing against his snout. Lapis nuzzles against her hand, his eyes slowly closing. Celina observes the little pokémon's breathing and how soothing it's become. Her eye lids grow heavy, fatigue catching up on her. Before she falls asleep completely, she mutters two simple words.

"Thank you."

~The Next Day~

The door to her room slowly opens. Mabella peeks her head around the corner, her eyes landing on the bed. With the help of the night light nearby, she makes her way over to the bed and crouches beside it. Both Celina and Lapis are sound asleep, their breathing calm. The two of them are snuggled close together, but have enough room to breathe. Mabella quietly giggles before she places a hand on Celina's shoulder. She gently shakes her.

"Celina..." there's no response, but Mabella shakes her again. This time she hears a quiet groan, "Celina, it's time to get up. You have a big day today."

"Five more minutes..." Celina mutters, covering her face more with the blanket.

"Hmm... I see..." Mabella hums before straightening herself. A mischievous smile appears on her lips. She let's out a heavy sigh and shrugs her shoulders, "I guess there will be more pancakes for me and the professor. It's too bad... I even made your favorite topping," she leans down to whisper the last part, "Oran berry flavor..."

"I'm awake!" Celina springs up from her bed, startling poor Lapis. She pushes herself up and stands on the bed, puffing her cheeks out, "Tell the professor not to eat all of my pancakes!"

Mabella covers her mouth and giggles, satisfied that her little plan worked, "Will do. I'll make you a plate while you get dressed. Deal?"

"Deal!" Celina grins at her as she jumps from the bed onto the floor.

Mabella then takes her leave and shuts the door behind her. She glances up to smile at Kukui, who has his mouth full of pancakes. He swallows and grins, giving her an assuring thumbs up.

"I heard, yeah!" Kukui tells her as he continues to eat from his plate.

Celina makes her bed and then dresses up for the day. She pulls a dark orange t-shirt over her head and slides on a pair of jean shorts. Celina wore her white ankle socks last night since it was chilly. Grabbing her sneakers, Celina sits on the floor and slides each foot inside. She ties the white lace to create a bow on both shoes. Making sure they're tight and comfy, Celina pats the faded orange sneakers and glances over at her pokémon. Lapis cries up at her, poking her ankle with his nose. Celina pets Lapis and then scratches under his chin. She hears a cute little noise from Lapis and giggles before stopping.

"Bar?" Lapis tilts his head before clapping his flippers together.

"Good morning to you too, Lapis." Celina greets him with a smile.

She then makes herself stand and walks over to her bag. Celina goes through every item at a quick pace. The pancakes aren't going to eat themselves if she's still in here. Once everything's in order, Celina zips up her bag and rushes toward the door.

"Come on Lapis! It's breakfast time!" Celina calls out to him.

She leaves the door open for him as he follows closely. Celina immediately notices the professor at her table. He's leaning back in his chair, patting his stomach and releasing a content sigh. Celina covers her mouth to laugh, understanding the professor's feelings.

Whenever her mother has company, she makes everyone eat to the point where they're full and can't take another bite. Mabella didn't want anyone to leave with an empty stomach. Speaking of which, the warm aroma of fresh pancakes wafts into her nose and her stomach rumbles in response to the smell.

"Hungry?" Mabella asks, holding a plate of pancakes with dark blue syrup on top.

"Yeesssss..." Celina answers, practically drooling at the sight.

Mabella chuckles before setting the plate on the table. Celina sits across from Kukui, waves at him before digging in. Mabella crouches a little to place a bowl of pokémon food on the ground. Lapis flops over and sniffs at it. Deeming it edible, Lapis grabs a piece with his teeth and flips it up. Celina watches while chewing her food, eager to see if Lapis will catch it. Once the food's close to his mouth, Lapis opens his mouth and catches it with ease. Swallowing, Celina claps for him and gives him a small cheer. Lapis cries up at her before digging into the food.

"So, cousin!" she shoves another piece of pancake in her mouth before looking at him, "You pumped for the festival later, yeah?"

Celina swallows after chewing and nods, her body swaying to the right and left, "I'm very excited! I've never been to a festival before, so this will be my first time seeing what it's like!"

"Oh yeah?" Kukui grins at her enthusiasm before adjusting his shades, "Do you remember what I said yesterday, about teaching you more about being a trainer, yeah?"

"Mm! I do! It was before I met Hau. Are you going to teach me before the festival?" Celina asks, drinking some Moomoo milk to quench her thirst.

"You got it, woo! As soon as your done, I'll show you on route one. I'll meet you there," Kukui stands and looks over at Mabella, "Thanks for the food, mom, it was awesome!"

"I'm happy to hear that. Be careful on your way out." Mabella says, bidding him farewell with a smile while washing the dishes.

Professor Kukui nods, the same grin on his face as he takes his leave. A couple of minutes pass before Celina finishes her plate, satisfied with the meal. Pushing her chair back, Celina stands and brings the plate over to where her mom is. Mabella looks over and gently kisses her forehead, smoothly taking the plate out of Celina's hands. Celina blinks and looks at her empty hands, an expression of awe on her face. Mabella giggles before setting the plate in the bubbly water.

"You go ahead and have fun. I'll take care of the dishes." Mabella tells her with an assuring smile.

"Okay, Mama! I love you!" Celina shouts before lifting herself and kissing her cheek.

After giving her a goodbye kiss, Celina turns and makes her way to the front door. Lapis' hot on her trail, not wanting to be left behind. Celina throws open the door and exits, her messenger bag flying behind her. The heat wave immediately hits her face as she takes a step on the porch. Once Lapis joins her, Celina closes the door and looks up at the sky. With the help of the porch's roof, she didn't need to shield her eyes from the sunlight. Not yet anyway.

There's not a cloud in sight within the blue sky. No cloud means no rain, which brightens Celina's mood right away. She didn't need the rain to ruin her first time at the festival. Where would the fun be in that?

Celina hears children laughing to her right, her gaze turning from the sky toward the sound. She observes the children run down from the path, that she took yesterday, and make a right toward a cement pavement. If Celina remembers correctly, there's a school down that road. She can easily walk there and back in less than fifteen minutes. However, Celina's not going to school. Humming to herself, Celina walks down the steps and stops in front of the last step. She then hears someone shouting her name.

"Hey Celina! Over here!"

Celina perks up upon hearing her name. She shifts her attention to the left and notices professor Kukui waving at her. Eager to start learning more about being a trainer, Celina lifts Lapis and holds him close to her chest. She then jogs over to him, Lapis bouncing with each step she takes. Celina stops in front of him and grins, practically jumping with excitement. Kukui returns the gesture before motioning her to follow him. Both of them climb up a small hill leading to an open field with bright, green grass all over the place. Celina looks around in awe, her mouth agape as she stops in front of the grass. Kukui follows her example and turns to her, his hand motioning to the grass.

"So you know that wild Pokémon will sometimes jump out at you in the tall grass, yeah?" Kukui asks.

"I do! Mama always told me to avoid the tall grass since I didn't have a pokémon with me," Celina admits before looking down at Lapis, her grin widening, "But I do now, so...!"

"You can enter them now, yeah!" Kukui finishes her sentence. Celina nods enthusiastically while Kukui continues, "Since you have Popplio there, you can not only fight wild Pokémon, yeah... You can also try to catch 'em. Woo!"

"Is that what you're going to teach me? How to catch Pokémon?" Celina asks, her eyes widening at the possibility of catching her own.

"That's right! Let me show you how it's done, oh yeah!" Kukui tells her, bringing out a poké ball and enlarges it.

Lapis' ears twitch when he hears something shuffle within the grass. He turns and barks at the source, directing Celina and Kukui's attention to him. Before Celina can ask what's wrong, something leaps out from within the tall grass and lands in front of Celina. The sudden motion startles her, making Celina fall back on her bottom. Lapis escapes from her grasp and stands in front of her, tensing his body to protect his trainer. The pokémon lowers their head, growling menacingly.

It's body is long with four short legs and brown fur. Along it's back and underbelly are yellow striped fur that reaches to the tip of it's tail. The one thing that Celina notices immediately are it's sharp, deadly teeth. She swallows nervously afterwards.

One of it's small, round ears twitch when something moves behind it. There's a glint in it's black, small eyes as it turns to face whatever decided to disturb it. It snarls at the professor, but he only turns to Celina with an easy going smile.

"Hey Celina! Take out your poké dex, yeah, and you'll learn about the pokémon you're facing!" Kukui advises before he throws his poké ball.

Celina shakes her head to relieve herself before digging through her bag. Once she has the poké dex out, Celina presses one of the buttons and lifts it until the pokémon's body fits the screen. An electronic voice comes on along with a picture of the pokémon.

 **Yungoos, the Loitering Pokémon. It wanders around in a never-ending search for food. At dusk, it collapses from exhaustion and falls asleep on the spot. Normal Type.**

"So it's a Yungoos..." Celina mutters until she hears another cry. She glances up from the poké dex and notices another pokémon on the field. A moment passes until she squeals on it's appearance, "What a cute puppy...!"

The puppy's fur is light brown with dark brown spots on it's paws. It's ears are short and floppy, the tips of them having the same color as it's paws. What draws Celina's attention the most are it's big, blue eyes. She can easily melt under it's adorable gaze. It's white, fluffy curled tail moves side to side. The pokémon yips before scratching it's pebble like collar with the back of it's leg. Celina brings the pokédex on the puppy, eager to know it's name.

 **Rockruff, the Puppy Pokémon. This Pokémon has lived with people since times long ago. It can sense when its Trainer is in the dumps and will stick close by it's Trainer's side. Rock Type.**

"Rockruff, use Tackle!"

As soon as the robotic voice finishes, Rockruff dashes toward Yungoos. The wild pokémon didn't have time to react when Rockruff slams it's body against Yungoos. Yungoos slides back a couple of inches, suddenly having trouble standing. Celina watches on with wide eyes, her heart thumping hard against her chest. Professor Kukui brings out an empty poké ball and twirls it on top of his index finger.

"Pay close attention, cousin! You've gotta weaken a pokémon up a bit before you try lobbing a poké ball at it!" Kukui informs her before throwing the ball.

Yungoos snarls when the ball hits it. The pokémon's surrounded by a red light before it's sucked into the poké ball. Celina stares anxiously at the ball, seeing it jiggle around every couple of seconds. Then, a lovely sound of a click resonates in her eardrums. A moment passes before Celina cheers.

"Great job, professor!" Celina praises before lifting herself off of the ground and on her feet.

"Thanks, cousin!" Kukui appreciates the gesture. He strolls over to the poké ball and picks it up. Kukui shows it to Celina, her full attention on the ball, "Wild pokémon do sometimes attack people if they get close, but catch 'em and they'll join your team and be a great help to you, yeah!"

"A team of my own... Sounds nice..." Celina says with a smile, wondering what kind of pokémon will be apart of her journey.

Kukui pockets the poké ball and hands over a small clothed bag. Celina tucks the poké dex under her arm before grabbing the bag. As soon as Kukui's grip loosens, she can feel how heavy and bulky the bag is. Even if that's the case, Celina can hold it steady without breaking a sweat. She opens the bag to see some poké balls and potions mixed together. Celina counts them separately to herself. There are roughly ten poké balls and five potions in the bag.

"There're some poké balls and potions in there to get you started," Kukui tells her. Celina lifts her head to look up at him. Kukui grins, "Why don't you have a little adventure of your own on the way to Iki Town, yeah?"

Celina's face beams at the mention of adventure, "Okay! I can definitely do that! But first... I think I'll stay here to practice capturing Pokémon. My team needs to grow after all!"

"Sounds good! I'll see you at Iki Town when you're done, yeah?" he then turns to Lapis. The little guy looks up at him curiously, "Take good care of Celina, Popplio!"

Lapis squeals in response, clapping his front flippers to let Kukui know he understands. Nodding, Kukui waves at the two before departing toward Iki Town. Rockruff barks at the two before following after the professor. Celina watches them go until she can't see them anymore, then she turns to Lapis with an energetic smile.

"Before we get started, I'm curious on what the poké dex says about you, Lapis. Shall we take a look?" Celina asks, setting the cloth bag inside her other one and brings the poké dex forward.

Lapis cries out as the machine whirls back to life and an image of him appears on screen. The two of them hear a robotic voice from within the pokédex.

 **Popplio, the Sea Lion Pokémon. This Pokémon can control water bubbles. It practices diligently so it can learn to make big bubbles. Water Type.**

"Hmm... So you're good at doing that, huh? That's neat!" Celina says, stuffing the poké dex in her back pocket. She might need it again later.

Both of them hear shuffling within the grass. They look at the moving grass before at each other. Celina slowly grins, moving so Lapis can take the lead. Lapis flops to the front, eager to battle once more. Celina points to the grass, inhaling some air before shouting.

"Ready, Lapis!? Use water gun!"

~Some time passes~

"No way..."

The blazing sun's beating down on her and Lapis. She stares in disbelief at the grassy field. Celina wipes some sweat from her brow, and then bites the inside of her cheek.

Celina's down by five poké balls and three potions. She has yet to capture any pokémon. Before she can catch any pokémon, they would either run away, smack, or dodge the ball with ease. What is she doing wrong...? Celina's following the professor's advise. Weaken them before trying to throw a ball at them. That's simple. So, what exactly is she missing here? Is it the timing? Does she have to weaken them faster? Do they have a certain spot that'll make capturing them easier? Is there a technique she has to learn to properly throw a ball? All of the questions causes her mind to swirl, an irritating headache forming.

She takes her glasses off and messages her temples, a heavy sigh escaping her lips. Lapis glances up at her and whines quietly. Celina glances down at him and kneels to rub the top of his head. She smiles sweetly at him. There's a hint of frustration in her eyes, but it's not towards Lapis.

It's at her inability to catch a pokémon when the professor did it with such ease. Receiving the bitter taste of reality stinks. She believed that this would be easy and that she would have a big team in no time. How naive of her to think that way.

Celina absently stops petting Lapis, her mind wondering about her father.

He was a trainer once. How did he do when he first started his journey? Did he have a hard time capturing pokémon or was he a pro at it? Was he frustrated or did he laugh it off? What would he do in this situation...?

Celina sniffs, feeling tears starting to prick at the corner of her eyes. She forcibly wipes away the tears since she didn't have time to cry right now. Right now, Celina has to come up with a way to capture a pokémon. At least she's gaining some battling experience. It's not much, but she'll need the experiences for future battles. Not all of them are going to be a walk in the park.

"Bwark! Bwark!"

Lapis' cries snaps her back to reality. She focuses on Lapis who's still barking at the grass. Celina gives the grass a side glance, noticing movement at the corner of her eye. She chews the inside of her cheek, doubt creeping up from the back of her mind. Celina feels something nudge her hand and she looks down at Lapis. He's giving her an expression of determination. She can practically see the fire burning in his eyes as he nudges her again.

"Bwark!"

"Are you...telling me to try again?" Celina asks, her lips curling into a smile.

Lapis claps his front flippers in response to her question. Taking a deep breath, she shuffles through the cloth bag and brings out a poké ball. Celina clenches it tightly as she stands, her gaze on the moving grass. Lapis moves to the front once more and barks at the grassy field. The grass becomes still which causes Celina to hold her breath in anticipation. Then, something shoots out from within and onto the bare field. Celina twitches upon seeing the pokémon's appearance. It's the bird pokémon that would either peck or dodge the poké ball with ease. The poké dex called it Pikipek, the Woodpecker Pokémon.

She's unsure if it's the same pokémon that's been giving her a hard time. They all look the same to her. However, with Lapis' support, Celina's willing to try and capture the fast, tiny bird once more. It's big blue eyes stare at Lapis while chirping, tilting it's head in different directions.

Pikipek's gray beak is long and pointy with a black tip. There's a mixture of white and black feathers on it's body, though a red striped line comes from it's beak and ends at the top of it's head. It also has thin gray talons with a flat tail.

It flaps it's wings until Pikipek's flying. Pikipek didn't give Celina time to react when it dives toward Lapis. Celina quickly gives Lapis a command.

"Lapis, dodge and then use water gun!" Celina shouts, hoping she makes it in time.

At the last second, Lapis dodges Pikipek's attack. Once Pikipek's back to him, Lapis takes aim and shoots water from his nose. Pikipek screeches when the pressure of the water sends it flying. It hits a nearby palm tree and slides down, it's one leg twitching involuntarily. Celina didn't move for a moment, hesitating on whether this is her chance to throw the ball or not.

She didn't want to mess up again.

Lapis bumps his head against her leg and gestures toward Pikipek. Looks like Lapis wants her to give it a shot. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Celina takes aim at Pikipek. Her heart skips a beat when she throws the ball at Pikipek. It didn't have the strength to move when the poké ball hits it. Celina breathes in sharply when Pikipek goes inside. She immediately clenches her hands together, anxiously watching the ball wiggle around. Her heart beats fiercely against her chest. Then, the lovely clicking sound echoes in her eardrum and everything's silent. She stares, her jaw dropping in disbelief.

Celina did it. She actually caught a pokémon and it's Pikipek no less! Oh... Oh she didn't know what to do with herself! This... This is incredible!

She can hear Lapis squealing happily beside her, blowing water bubbles in the air to celebrate. Celina joins in on the celebration by jumping around and cheering, though a bit away from the bubbles. All of them pop once they reach a certain height and the water sprinkles on the bare ground. Feeling proud of her accomplishment, Celina rushes over to the now filled poké ball. She carefully lifts the poké ball, and peers into the reflection. Celina can see Pikipek gazing at her from the inside, it's expression neutral. Her lips curves into a giddy grin as she prepares to throw the poké ball. She didn't want to wait any longer to officially introduce Pikipek to her and Lapis.

"Come on out!" Celina shouts, watching as the poké ball snaps open and releases Pikipek.

Pikipek ruffles her feathers when she appears. She pecks in between her feathers to scratch at something. Celina rummages through her cloth bag and pulls out a potion, ready to heal Pikipek's small injury. She quietly crouches and holds her hand out to Pikipek. The bird turns to Celina and gazes at her outstretched hand. She seems to hesitate for a brief moment, but then reconsiders and hops over to Celina. The girl has to hold in her squealing when Pikipek hops on her hand. Celina gently brings her forward. Noticing that her feather's wet, Celina places the potion on the ground and searches through her big bag. Celina feels the soft fabric and brings it out. She carefully sits on the ground before laying Pikipek on her lap.

"Let's get you dried up first, okay?" Celina tells her as she begins wiping her down.

The bird pokémon remains still through the ordeal, finding the fabric to be nice and warm. Lapis flops over before resting his head on Celina's lap, curious on what she's doing. Celina smiles over at Lapis as she finishes her task. Pikipek ruffles her feathers again. She chirps happily when she didn't feel the heavy weight of water on her. Giggling at her content expression, Celina sets the towel down and brings the potion up. She motions for Pikipek to close her eyes before spraying the medicine on her. Once everything's done, Pikipek's good as new. Pikipek chirps and hops on Celina's lap. Lapis claps for her with a cheerful bark. Celina gently rubs the top of Pikipek's head, her mind wondering on a name for her new pokémon friend.

There was this fiery glow in mostly all of the Pikipek's eyes when she attempted to capture them. How fierce they fought to dodge or peck away from the poké ball. Just thinking about it fills her mind with admiration for the tiny birds. Despite their size, they continued to defy their fate, no matter how many times she threw a ball at them. Celina believes that she was lucky that she caught Pikipek. She's grateful towards fate for being kind to her. Celina sweats as she wonders if fate also took pity on her in that moment. She guesses it didn't matter now since Pikipek's officially part of her team.

Celina hums as she traces her finger over the red streak on Pikipek's head. A name slowly molds together as three words keeps popping up in her head.

 **Red... Bird... Fiery...**

"Phoenix..." Celina mutters, her eyes brightening at the name. Grinning, she gazes directly at Pikipek, "How would you like to be called Phoenix?"

Pikipek chirps as her eyes sparkle, her wings flapping around joyfully. Celina giggles at her happiness. Pikipek, now called Phoenix, hops around until she's flying. Phoenix's one eye glints mischievously before she grabs a hold of Celina's glasses with her talons. Celina's eyes widen at this sudden action, her hands reaching out instinctively to grab her glasses back. Phoenix flies backwards to avoid her touch before she takes flight, chirping on her way. Celina can practically hear the little pokémon laughing. She watches as Phoenix flies around in a circle, chirping non stop. Celina slowly looks down at Lapis who gazes back at her. They stare at each other for a moment before Celina bursts out laughing. Lapis squeals along with her.

"Ha ha ha...! Oh, oh this is great! I caught a mischievous little bird. I'm sure our journey's going to be twice as interesting now!" Celina says while wiping away some tears from her eyes.

Phoenix cries out before flying toward the hill on the other side of the grassy field. Celina watches her go before shaking her head. The little bird's lucky that she can actually see or else she would be in trouble. She then hurries and packs everything back in her messenger bag, not having time to organize things. Celina slings the bag on with ease before dashing after Phoenix. Lapis follows closely behind. Luckily no other wild pokémon attacked them while the two gave chase. It only took a minute to reach the top of the hill before she comes across somebody. The little, dark skin boy takes notice of Celina's arrival before waving at her.

"Heeeeyyy...!" he shouts before running up to her.

The boy looks to be a preschooler with how small he is compared to her. She has this feeling that she's met him before, but she can't place when and where that was. He stops in front of her and then grins. Celina takes note that the little boy's missing an upper tooth. He fixes his white, floppy hat as he goes to speak.

"My name's Oliver! I met you yesterday! Remember?" the little boy, Oliver, introduces himself while his big, gray eyes shine hopefully.

Celina thinks long and hard. He looks and sounds familiar... Wait. Is he that little boy she spoke to in front of Iki Town? When she was with the professor? He was battling at the time with his Yungoos. Yeah, this has to be that same boy. Feeling confident in her memory, Celina nods and smiles at him.

"I do! You were battling with your pokémon when we met!" Celina tells him.

Oliver cheers before he brings out a poké ball. Celina watches as he throws it up and down in his hand, his grin widening.

"When I heard professor Kukui mention you coming, I had to meet you again! Since you have a pokémon now, are you ready to battle? You did say you couldn't wait to battle me! Come on! Come on!" Oliver ushers her, unable to contain his excitement.

Celina grins as she finds the kid's energy contagious. She looks up to see that Phoenix's still flying above, but keeping a close eye on her. Celina waves at her and motions with her finger to come down. Oliver glances up to see where Celina's looking at and watches as Phoenix descends with a pair of glasses. She hovers in front of Celina and chirps happily. Celina chuckles as she takes the glasses, fixes them in place and gives Phoenix a side glance when she lands on her shoulder. Phoenix nuzzles the side of Celina's face. Celina playfully rolls her eyes as she nudges her back with her cheek.

"Uh huh. You playful little bird. Are you up to battling? Oliver here wants to have a pokémon battle." Celina asks, motioning towards Oliver.

Phoenix looks at Oliver and watches him play with the poké ball. Her eyes follow the poké ball intently, her feathers starting to ruffle. Celina can feel how tense Phoenix is when her talons squeezes into her shoulder. Her eye twitches at the pain, but she didn't say anything as she turns to Oliver.

"I think Phoenix here is willing to battle! Is that alright with you?" Celina asks, still learning the ropes of battling.

"Fine with me! You can use whatever pokémon you want! No need to ask!" Oliver informs her as he catches the poké ball and prepares to throw it.

Celina nods in understanding, mentally writing it down as she points to the ground while looking at Phoenix, "Go ahead, Phoenix! It's your time to shine!"

Phoenix chirps excitedly as she flies off of Celina's shoulder and lands on the ground. Oliver throws the poké ball and out comes his pokémon, Yungoos. His pokémon hisses at Phoenix as soon it appears. Celina glances down at Lapis, crouches before she gently strokes his head.

"You take a little break, okay Lapis? You can cheer our new companion if you want." Celina tells him.

Lapis seems to understand Celina by nodding and doing a cute little salute. She giggles as she stands and faces Oliver, pumped for the battle that's about to start.

Since she's well rested this time, Celina's more than ready to face any battle that comes her way. It didn't matter if it's a child or adult facing her. She'll welcome any challenge. Celina's curious on how this battle's going to go. Time to find out!

"Phoenix, use Peck!"

"Yungoos, use Leer!"

Both of them shout their commands simultaneously. Before Phoenix can attack, Yungoos glares at her with a bit of shine in his eyes. Phoenix pauses mid-step when her eyes meet his and shudders, hesitant on attacking the pokémon. Noticing that Phoenix's hesitating, Celina gives her an encouraging cheer with Lapis helping out. Phoenix chirps in response while ruffling her feathers, shaking off the hesitation. Oliver takes this chance to have Yungoos attack while Phoenix's distracted.

"Yungoos, use Tackle!" Oliver shouts.

"Dodge and use Peck, Phoenix! You can do it!" Celina assures her, feeling the heat of the battle even if they just started.

Yungoos dashes toward Phoenix with everything's he's got. Phoenix chirps as she dodges, though Yungoos' able to scrap her left side. Using her wings to lift her up, Phoenix quickly brings her beak down on Yungoos and strikes the top of his head. Since Phoenix hit a vulnerable spot on Yungoos, the opponent's pokémon faints within seconds, his tongue sticking out. Celina's eyes nearly pop out of her sockets, shocked at this turn of events. Oliver's just as flabbergasted on what just happened. Phoenix just flaps her wings happily since she won her first battle. There's a moment of silence between the two until Oliver huffs and stomps his foot, frustrated that he lost.

"So unfair! Your pokémon's really strong!" Oliver shouts before summoning Yungoos back. He crosses his arms and pouts while looking away from Celina.

Celina bites the inside of her cheek, finding herself in a small predicament. Phoenix flies back and lands on her shoulder. She scratches under her beak and whispers a sweet praise. Afterwards, Celina cautiously walks up to the upset Oliver. Once she reaches him, she smiles gently at him to appease him. Hopefully what she says will cheer him up.

"Thanks for the battle. Your Yungoos did a great job, especially the part when he used leer." Celina praises with an honest heart, though she keeps an eye on any negative reactions.

Oliver didn't say anything for a while. He slowly turns back to Celina before speaking, "... Really?"

Celina gives him a firm nod before she stretches her hand out to him, "I would love to battle again! Whenever you want to that is."

Oliver stares at her hand for a while until he takes it. They shake hands before Oliver smiles back at her. Celina beams at him, relieved that he's not angry with her anymore. She didn't know what she would do if he continued to be furious. Oliver digs through his pockets before grabbing something. He let's go of her before slapping the content into her hand. Finding this puzzling, Celina gazes down at her hand and notices it's money. She widens her eyes before snapping her attention back on him.

"I-I can't take this! It's your money!" Celina stutters, feeling like a bully mooching off of some kid.

"Keep it! It's some kind of rule that if you lose, you have to hand over your money to the winner," Oliver explains before rubbing underneath his nose, "Next time, I'll be stronger! See ya...!"

Before Celina can protest, Oliver takes off down the path leading to Iki Town. She stares at the empty spot that Oliver was and pouts. Celina releases a long sigh before shoving the money in her pocket.

"I don't like this, but I guess I don't have a choice. Looks like something I'll have to grow used to," Celina mutters before looking at her pokémon. She gives them a faint smile, "You two ready to continue?"

Both of them make a sound of approval. Her smile widens before she continues to follow the path. During her little journey, she comes across two more challengers. The battles lasted a bit longer than the one she had with Oliver, but she manages to win. She even tries to deny the victory money with one of them, but the other person insists. After much pestering, Celina finally gives in and accepts the money, though a bit begrudgingly. Once she defeats her last challenger, she's practically at the entrance of Iki Town. The entrance to the town, however, looks different from when she last saw it.

Four braziers are resting on either side of each other, lined up with the staircase leading into Iki Town. The fires crackle from within as a strong, burning smell of wood wafts into her nose. Celina wiggles her nose at the scent, her eyes trailing up the stairs. There's no other decorations that she can tell, but there are sounds of people beating on some drums and playing foreign pipes. Her heart pounds as her body becomes one with the town's festive atmosphere. Unable to contain herself, she bolts up the stairs with Lapis flopping right behind her. As soon as she reaches the top, she's met with more braziers and a bunch of cheerful people. Children are running around energetically while the adults talk amongst each other. Celina even notices different little pokémon chasing after kids. She can hear their giggles as they run away. It looks like a lot of fun!

"This place feels so much different compared to yesterday. The atmosphere feels nice..." Celina comments as she gazes at her pokémon, "Don't you two think so?"

Phoenix chirps in agreement as she takes flight and flies to the other buildings. She goes to join in on the fun with the other bird pokémon. Celina giggles as she feels a nudge on her ankle. She looks down to see Lapis gazing sweetly at her and squeals once he has her attention. Smiling, Celina bends down, picks Lapis up and then holds him close to her. Lapis snuggles himself in her grasp, content as soon as he's in a good spot. Celina kisses the top of his head before she notices kahuna Hala approach her. She immediately waves at him. Hala laughs as he returns the gesture before stopping in front of her.

"Good of you to join us, child! We were beginning to wonder if you would ever show up." Hala says with a chuckle.

Celina scratches her cheek and gives him a sheepish smile, "Sorry if I was late! I was busy practicing with my new pokémon. I hope I'm not too late to join in on the fun."

"Not at all! We have only just started the festival, so there's no need to worry." Hala assures her.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, she goes to speak again, "Kahuna Hala, what's the festival actually about? I didn't get a chance to ask the professor about it."

"Ah, a very good question! Before I answer, let me tell you a little bit more about Alola," Hala tells her. Once Celina nods, he goes to explain, "The Alola region is made up of four islands. And each island has its own guardian pokémon," he begins to chuckle as he continues, "Our festival today is held to express our thanks to these great pokémon guardian deities for always remaining by our sides. Well..." he strokes his mustache as he looks around, smiling at the environment, "We may call it a festival, but it's just this little thing you see here. There may not be many of us, but at least every last one of us here goes all out."

A mental image of a random person falling over after partying too hard causes her to laugh. She can tell that everyone's having a good time so far. What with all the smiles and laughter going around, she can't help but want to go all out too! It also helps that the positive energy goes nicely with the music that's playing in the background.

"Thanks for the explanation, kahuna Hala! I'll make sure to enjoy myself while I'm here!" Celina promises with a grin on her face.

Lapis squeals in agreement, causing the two of them to chuckle. After conversing with Hala, she notices a familiar face in the distance. Celina leans her head forward until recognition flashes in her hazel eyes. Standing by the other set of stair case is non other than Hau with his pokémon, Litten. Not wasting any time, Celina bolts toward him and shouts to gain his attention.

"Haaauuuu...!"

Hau perks up when he hears his name. He looks over to see Celina running towards him. A grin immediately appears on his face, happy to see her again. He excitedly waves at her. Celina stops in front of him and gives him a big grin.

"Nice to see you again, Hau!" Celina greets him energetically.

"Same here, Celina! But boy, you sure took a while. Me and Litten've been waiting for ages!" Hau teases, his grin widening when his Litten meows in agreement.

Celina giggles before apologizing, "Sorry, sorry! I was busy trying to catch a pokémon for my team."

"Oh? Did you catch anything?" Hau asks curiously, interested to know what kind of pokémon she caught.

After he asks that question, Phoenix descends from a building and perches herself on top of Celina's head. Hau's taken back by the sudden appearance of Phoenix before he laughs. Finding his laugh contagious, she joins him. Once they calm down, she points at Phoenix.

"This is my second pokémon, Phoenix! Say hello, Phoenix!" Celina urges the bird pokémon, feeling proud of herself.

Phoenix greets Hau with a chirp, hopping on top of Celina's head. Hau returns the gesture with a wave, ecstatic that Celina caught Phoenix. He does a little cheer.

"Good job in capturing Pikipek!" Hau tells her.

"Thanks!" Celina appreciates his compliment before looking around, "This place feels completely different from yesterday. It's much more lively."

Hau brings his hands behind his head and nods, "That's what a festival will do to the place. Speaking of which, didn't anyone explain to you about the event that's going to place here?"

"Event...?" Celina questions, tilting her head. Phoenix copies her motion, "I was told that the festival was to express thanks to the guardian deities. That's all."

"Oh yeah, right on time!" a familiar voice shouts from behind.

Celina jumps at the sudden voice before she whirls around to face the person. Her face lights up when she sees Lillie and Kukui. She waves energetically at them, unable to hold back her excitement and joy of seeing them again. All of this positive energy almost overwhelms her to the point of dizziness, but she holds it together. Lillie shyly waves back. Kukui grins at Celina's enthusiasm. Lillie turns to Kukui, a question forming in her mind.

"What did we arrive to, professor?" Lillie asks, shushing Nebby when he cries out from within the bag.

Kukui places his hands on his waist, his grin widening, "A full-powered festival for pokémon battling! We battle in the name of Tapu Koko, pitting our best moves against one another in friendly competition to please out guardian. Woo!"

"Ah, so that's it. Great!" Celina exclaims, finally understanding what event Hau was talking about. Now she feels pumped and ready to go!

Lillie turns to Hau and Celina, "Are you two going to take part in the battle?" she receives enthusiastic responses from the two of them before she nods, "I don't like seeing pokémon fight one another, since they so often end up getting hurt... But..." she smiles a little bit, "... It seems like this is an important event, so I'll be sure to watch you both."

"Thanks, Lillie. We appreciate the gesture." Celina says, her smile softening at Lillie's courage.

~Some time passes~

The sun's beginning to set as everyone's gathered around a platform. Mabella's even there to cheer Celina on. Kahuna Hala climbs up to the platform and stands in the middle. His presence has everyone quiet, the fire crackling from within the braziers the only sounds they hear. Celina's practically shaking, eager to battle Hau again. Kahuna Hala clears his throat as he begins his speech.

"For all life on our islands...and for those who undertake the island challenge with joy in their hearts...we pray for your protection...for them and all Melemele. May this pokémon battle be an offering to our island's guardian deity - Tapu Koko!" Hala motions to his left where Hau waits at the bottom of the stairs, "Before you stands Hau - grandson to the kahuna."

Hau walks up the steps leading to the platform and stands on one side. Kahuna Hala motions to his right where Celina resides. The gesture causes Celina's heart to skip a beat, preparing herself mentally to be in front of a crowd.

"Before him stands Celina - one who has met with Tapu Koko." Hala says.

Taking a deep breath, Celina joins Hau on stage, but on the opposite side of him. As soon as her feet touch the middle of the platform, she hears surprised whispers in the crowd. Some are shocked that Tapu Koko even showed itself to Celina. Others laugh on how fickle Tapu Koko is. Despite that, her cheeks still flush at the attention. Mabella waves from the ground.

"Lapis! Take care of my little Celina!" Mabella tells the pokémon in Celina's arms.

Lapis squeals in response. Celina giggles a little, happy to hear her mother's voice. Hau grins at her.

"As long as we both have a good time, then I think we can call it a great battle, eh?" Hau says, his Litten rubbing against his leg.

"Mm! Let's have a great battle, Hau!" Celina tells him, grinning right back at him.

Once the two finish conversing, Hala speaks up, his voice booming across the area, "Celina! Hau! Bring forth the power of your pokémon!"

 **Hala's voice signals the battle between the young trainers!**

* * *

 _ **To be continued...**_

Okay, so I was nervous about uploading this second chapter because one; It involves two pokémon battles. I PRAY that they're not mary sue material since that's the last thing that I want for this story. The second thing I'm worried about is Celina's choice of pokémon. Now, I don't regret her picking Popplio. That's not it. It's the fact that I hope I explained it well on _why_ she chose Popplio. Gosh just typing this up makes me nervous. Like I said in the first chapter, I've never done a pokémon fanfic before. I don't want Celina to be overpowering since that's not what I'm aiming for. Haaaa... ;w;

If there's something that you wish to point out, please don't hesitate to tell me. Send me a private message if you want to. It'll be open to all. **Now for the important message.** If you guys want to keep track on my progress of each chapter, you can take a look on my FanFiction profile. It'll give you a rough percentage on where I'm at right now. It's to let you guys know that I am still working on the story and to keep you hopeful for the next chapter.

One more thing before I end things here. Like the last chapter, in order for me to continue, I need at least **one** review. I received a couple of reviews and they were supportive and amazing. Thank you so much for taking the time to write a review and for giving this story a chance. I hope I continue to meet your guys expectations (not all of it, but I'll do my best). So with that, I'll be on my way to taking a small break until I receive a review. Thank you again and I know it's late, but Happy New Years!

Bye for now~!


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